Mindy Newell takes dogs to birthday parties for other dogs.

Lynn Wersel spends the night with lonely dogs. Cathy Whitaker analyzes fearful dogs. And Robin Pappas drives dogs around in something she calls her poochmobile.

You've got to love pet sitters. They are the daffy Doolittles of our neurotic lives, jumping in to sooth our guilt and keep us in vacations. They've become so popular that now, for the first time, they're forming a business network in Greater Cincinnati.

This should be interesting. Pet sitters are nothing if not quirky individualists. Bringing them together is like calling a summit consisting of Jane Goodall, Mary Poppins and Doris Day.

Start was grief-coping

The person behind the effort is Kyle Maushardt of Professional Pet Nanny Inc., who started her sitting business three years ago to work through grief after her husband's death.

She has since learned more through national pet-sitting conventions. The Tristate network, she says, will allow sitters to share tips, promote their specialities and refer potential clients.

So far, this much is clear: Each pet sitter has her thing.

Mindy Newell's business, Hiking Hounds, consists of taking packs of dogs on long romps through public fields. She lets them off leash, relying on their pack instinct to keep them together.

"We go swimming, we play, they tackle each other," Ms. Newell says. "They find dead deer and bring them to me all excited. I'm like, `Uh . . . thanks.' "

When one client threw a birthday party for her pride and joy, Ms. Newell drove the other dogs to the festivities.

Ms. Whitaker, of Paw Companions in Fairfield, not only watches pets but takes an interest in their holistic health. Before each new assignment, she does a "meet and greet" with her charges, taking complete medical histories and even recording their "fears and phobias."

One client became so attached to the service that he willed his dog to Ms. Whitaker when he died.

Gail England of B.L. Flower Private Pet Care is especially fond of sitting for horses, which she calls "1,500-pound dogs."

"It's a super-high for me," she says.

Robin Pappas launched her business, Pooch Pals, after taking a buyout from Procter & Gamble.

Besides visiting pets while owners are gone, she takes them to appointments in her van - a.k.a. the poochmobile. As part of the deal, she also ferries human clients to and from the airport.

Then there's Lynn Wersel, who runs a word-of-mouth business staying overnight in people's homes.

For $40 a day, she'll make sure your pets are never alone. Right now, she's hanging in Eastgate with five cats and a Greyhound named Crystal Gayle.

"Any of the animals are welcome to sleep in bed with me," Ms. Wersel says cheerfully.

That's another thing about pet sitters. They really love their jobs.

For more information on the network, call 513-244-7674.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com or 859-578-5584.