Mission Statement &
About the owners
MISSION STATEMENT:
Our mission is to provide an experience for your pet that you never knew existed and could never have imagined. We want to completely remove all of the anxiety and fears of leaving your animal behind while you travel. We have thought of everything. Your pet will be taken on an adventure or, experience an at-home pet-sitting experience that is tailored to the desires of your pet’s heart and according to what you deem the best experience is for them. Know that your pet is safe and in the hands of a small family of veterinary and animal welfare professionals with decades of experience. Your pet will never be alone while you are away and they are the star of this show 24/7. Leave the guilt behind. While you are finding time for yourself in a near or distant place, your pooch is having more fun that you are; guaranteed.
Owner and Founder, Stephanie Coolidge
Before entering the veterinary industry over 16 years ago, Stephanie Coolidge was a successful hospitality professional and musician. To get away from the fast-paced life of managing kitchens and restaurants and playing gigs in Portland OR, she found the greatest joy in taking her Labrador, Charles on adventures all over Oregon and Washington. His smile (yes, dogs smile) and his happiness radiated as he sniffed the ruminants of animal tracks, he would gleefully carry infinite sticks from lake to tree, he quietly chewed on his Kong or raw hide while cuddling with her next to a fire until he fell into a deep sleep in his giant sherpa bed in the camper they shared. Charles and their adventures together were the essence of all that is good. There is a unique solace in an animal’s presence. Solace and the most genuine love you will ever observe. To give Charles all that his Labrador heart desired was and always will be one of the fondest memories of her life. “I could never repay him for the joy and calm he gifted me in his short life.”
In 2006, fate had it’s way with Stephanie. She left Portland for San Diego and while beginning her culinary studies at The Art Institute of San Diego she got a part-time job at a veterinary hospital in La Jolla. Shortly thereafter, a new leadership position presented itself and Stephanie was offered a director position in an industry that desperately needed a touch of hospitality. Her two worlds, in a way no one ever saw coming, joined together. No more kitchen lines, no more dinner rush, no more breaking down the kitchen or music equipment until the wee hours of the morning. The hospitality business had arrived at the front door of the animal kingdom in La Jolla. Her philosophy was that our pets don’t walk themselves through the front door of any animal-related business. Animal lovers do. They need to be catered to, their anxieties extinguished with genuine empathy and they should be greeted with someone who is willing to serve them without regard for limits. They need, we all need, a maître D to guide them meticulously through the experience of having their pets cared for. Now, the animals had a new, eager, energetic, vibrant, competent, detail-oriented and eventually very successful animal advocate on their side. After years at the veterinary hospital, her duties have become more administrative and she spends most hours in her office supporting the staff. This still brings much satisfaction to her as the hospital is still home to many clients, staff and pets that Stephanie loves dearly. She continues her role as hospital director with great appreciation and admiration for her work there and is delighted that her mission in La Jolla has accomplished insurmountable success over the last decade. SURF SIDE SITTERS places her back into the front lines. Back to the foundation of her ongoing work and directly working with pet owners in providing a service that will represent a true alternative and superior form of animal care.
Owner, Krissy Farrer
Krissy has been a veterinary technician since August, 2000. She graduated from the VASE program in 2011 and became an RVT (Registered Veterinary Technician). She has worked in veterinary practices in Arizona, Oregon and San Diego. She has worked in La Jolla, CA for over 15 years and specializes in critical needs and geriatric veterinary patient care. She is highly skilled in all aspects of veterinary medicine, trained in surgical procedures, has a special interest in veterinary dentistry and has provided private, concierge, pet service to many members of the La Jolla community. Like her partner Stephanie, she is an avid supporter of The FACE Foundation, The FOCAS Program at Rancho Coastal Humane Society and many other non-profit communities.