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Elgin Woman Named Pet Sitters International's Pet Sitter of the Year

CHICAGO (CBS) -- When it comes to watching someone's pet, a woman in Elgin takes the honors as the best in the world.

Pet Sitters International named 33-year old Carrie Feinberg as the Pet Sitter of the Year.

Feinberg's Safe Haven Advocate Pet Care and Photography will be three years old in August.

"Our pet-sitting business is a little bit different than a lot of the pet-sitting businesses in the area," Feinberg says.

Feinberg says she worked more than a dozen years for veterinarians, including at emergency medical care facilities, and she makes sure the people who work for her are CPR-trained and go through a "fear-free certification program" that aids in helping taking anxiety off of pets.

Feinberg says she treats all the pets like her children. She has more than 300 client families that have more than 600 pets. "They all become your best friends."

Safe Haven Advocate Pet Care and Photography offers an alternative to boarding a pet at a kennel. Feinberg says she and her staff go to clients' homes whether it's once a day, several times a day or even staying overnight.

And this is spring break time, one of the busiest times of the year for Feinberg's company. She said some of her clients are going on vacation, but their dogs also get a vacation in their own home because they get someone new to play with and spend time with them. But that person has to be comfortable and know how to handle emergency situations.

Feinberg says her company also cares for special needs pets, pets needing rehab after surgery and even pets in hospice.

She was one of the five finalists for Pet Sitter of the Year last year.

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