Meet Our Team

Welcome to
Stayin’ Home Pet Care

At Stayin’ Home Pet Care, our passion is pets! Established in 2009, our team first served the south Austin community before expanding to the greater Austin area, reaching from San Marcos across to Dripping Springs, and all the way up to Georgetown. Our mission is to give you the peace of mind that your pet is cared for like a member of our own family while you’re away from home. We offer pet sitting as well as dog walking services.

Our team of sitters and walkers takes our role seriously and we strongly believe in delivering personalized, compassionate, and professional services so that you may never be left without care for your pet.

View Our Services

About Karla Bauman

Founder, Stayin’ Home Pet Care

I grew up having a special connection with animals. Being surrounded by cattle, dogs, pigs and horses on a farm in Iowa will do that to a girl! There has been a dog by my side every day of my life, a total of 19 dogs in fact. While on the farm, being distant from my friends that lived in our small community, my dad always had a dog for me to play with. I will brag that there were many Saint Bernards! After completing my BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute, I moved to Austin in 1994 and started my career in customer service at Holland Photo. I changed companies a few times over the years, while maintaining my customer service career. 15 years ago, I decided to start Stayin’ Home Pet Care to combine my customer service skills with my Dr. Doolittle nature.

I live in SW Austin with my dog ZuZu. I was fortunate to have her land into my lap from Lucky Lab Rescue, who we proudly support. My oldest son, Dakota & his family live in Waco and my youngest son, Jax, is in his second year at Wartburg College in Iowa. Yes, I have successfully passed down to them that life is much better with a dog. I am a bit obsessed with Men’s College Basketball and attend every Longhorn’s home game. My top 5 favorite albums are REM: Life’s Rich Pageant, U2: Joshua Tree, Lenny Kravitz: Mama Said, Madonna: Ray of Light, and Prince: 1999.

I believe that we can all use a helping hand when work is getting the best of us or when we need to travel for business or pleasure. Your peace of mind and your pets’ well-being will always be our top priority, and our promise to you is to love them like we love our own. It is a joy to be able to provide a service that is bringing happiness & fun into the lives of your pets while making your life easier!

Meet Our Amazing Sitters!

We know we take great care of pets, but we also take great care of the pet parents, too! So at Stayin’ Home Pet Care, we employ caring and trustworthy sitters who are efficient and dependable. From students to stay-at-home moms to teachers, our team of pet care professionals have a variety of interests (from rock music to opera), but they all have one thing in common: they know how to take care of pets. So, whether it’s playing with cats or walking dogs, you can rest assured that your pet will always have exceptional care while you’re away from home!

I absolutely love animals, but I’m also a preschool teacher that works with 3 year-olds. Almost the same thing—lovable, quirky, friends that have my heart and keep me laughing. In my spare time, I enjoy long walks outside (usually 5 miles or more). And when strolling through the neighborhood this animal-loving, preschool teacher is generally listening to true crime podcasts. What can I say? Figuring out what makes people tick fascinates me. My favorite movies are Love Actually, Hot Tub Time Machine, Grease, Bohemian Rhapsody, animal Christmas Vacation.

The hobby that I most enjoy is studying health and wellness for both people and pets. I read articles and research daily on a wide variety of wellness topics, including group posts that discuss issues to offer information and what actually worked in real-time. My top five favorite movies are Ever After, The Wizard of Oz, A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Journey, and Marley & Me.

Spending the earlier part of my life in Boston, my husband & I made the move to Austin over 20 years ago. I love taking advantage of all that Austin has to offer – both old & new – including Zilker Park, the trails around the greenbelt & Town Lake (yes, it will always be Town Lake to me), and all the fabulous restaurants. When I’m not walking pups or scratching little furry bellies, I’m busy with my 3 kids and my whackadoodle, but sweet, lab mix, Darby. I do enjoy spending time with my family and friends but also revel in taking quiet walks through less traveled trails. My Island Movie are Boyhood, Schindler’s List, Up & (call me crazy!) Deliverance.

I grew up in East Texas and have lived in Austin for over 21 years. In my free time, I love exploring Austin’s parks with my two hypomanic, but adorable Border Collies. A little time alone in nature is good for the soul. Plus, it keeps the snuggle-beasts from spontaneously combusting like a Spinal Tap drummer. My top 5 favorite music albums are Steely Dan: Can’t Buy a Thrill, Robert Cray: Strong Persuader, Ann Peebles: Can’t Stand the Rain, Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger, and Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

The hobby that I most enjoy is studying health and wellness for both people and pets. I read articles and research daily on a wide variety of wellness topics, including group posts that discuss issues to offer information and what actually worked in real-time. My top five favorite movies are Ever After, The Wizard of Oz, A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Journey, and Marley & Me.

I am an Austin native! I was born and raised in South Austin. I’ve never known a life without pets. Growing up, we always had at least 2 dogs and a cat at all times. I now have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and some fish of my own. I’m a very outdoorsy person and consider myself somewhat of a wildlife expert. I spend as much time as I can camping, birding, and searching for frogs and snakes. Sometimes the most enjoyable thing is simply relaxing on the patio with my pups, Jackie and Tony.
My top 5 movies are Fargo, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Sabrina Down Under (for the cringy nostalgia), Parasite, and Gattaca.

Growing up in Central Texas I have always had lots of pets of my own including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, pigs, birds, and fish. I've called Austin my home now for over ten years with my Bassador dog Toby and cats Lily and Bear. I am an Ambassador for Know The Glow Nonprofit that raises awareness for childhood eye diseases. I enjoy baking, visiting museums, painting, hiking, and fossil hunting with my son. Top 5 Island Movies, in no particular order: Tremors, Sully, The Longest Ride, Arrival, and The King's Speech.

This is my handsome man Richard Parker. We rescued him and now he lives a life of luxury. He is well deserving of it though as he is an unbelievable well-mannered cat. I am originally from Washington State. I’ve been living in Buda for almost 15 years and just recently getting used to the heat. I am an early riser. I enjoy arriving to the parks early and sometimes capturing some beautiful photos. I love reading actual books. I love all kinds of music. I listen to some sort of Jazz every single day. When I am sending you updates about your loved ones, you’ll find that I will use more than one emoji if not many in my communication to help transfer the emotion and care that I am giving to your pets as if they were my own. My 5 Island Albums are David Grey’s Draw The Line, Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone, Ray LaMontange’s Trouble, Fakear’s All Glows and Gloria Estefan’s Mi Tierra

I am a true Austin girl, born & raised. While the city constantly changes, I still feel very at home in Austin. I have always had a love for animals in general, but especially cats! My only cat-child is my 3-year-old cat Sage, but I grew up with cats at a young age. With my free time, I love curling up with junk food & watching movies and TV and sometimes going to a pop cultured themed trivia night. My 5 Island Albums are Lizzo’s ‘Cuz I Love You, Ariana Grande’s My Everything, Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly, & Lizzo’s Special.

I’m ZuZu. But sometimes my owner calls me ZuBeeLicious. Or ZuBeeDuBee. I don’t care…I still come running! I am a Harvey Rescue. My mom was rescued by Lucky Lab Rescue and I was born in their care. Lucky for me, Karla & I found each other. We have so much fun! I chase everything: lacrosse balls, tennis balls, soccer balls, basketballs, deer. I love to run as fast as I can! And I am really fast. We go on a long walk every day. My favorite treat that she lets me have is Trader Joe’s White Cheddar Popcorn. I am always very curious about everything around me. She says that I am full of life.

What Our Clients Say

"We have been using Stayin’ Home Pet Care for our two cats for the past year, and couldn’t be happier to have found them. The owner is unbelievably responsive, and our two sitters have been world class. They text and send pictures with each visit, and go above and beyond to entertain our two feline babies. When we return from a trip, I almost wonder if they aren’t disappointed to see us instead of their favoritae sitter. I appreciate being able to travel with peace of mind that our cats and home are in good hands with an insured/bonded and reliable sitter.”

- Amy H. SW Austin