Help Guys N' Gals Zip Up The Homeless! ONE DAY ONLY Friday, June 11 10 am-9 pm (248) 851-1260 6333 Orchard Lake Rd. West Bloomfield Trade in your used jeans (clean without holes) for a new pair at 50% Off! Jeans collected will be donated to the HOMELESS OF OAKLAND COUNTY. One Pair of Jeans Per Customer, (Bring additional clothing for a tax deductible donation.) No charges. Cash & Check only Traveling 0 This Summer? Don't miss reading The Jewish News! Now on sale at these locations: • ■ BOYNE CITY Boyne City Books ■ CHARLEVOIX 7-11 Bridge Street Books Don's IGA ■ PETOSKEY Horizon Books McLean & Eakin Booksellers ■ TRAVERSE CITY Horizon Books Borders Books 6/4 1999 118 Detroit Jewish News DETROIT JEWISH NEWS JN other unwanted doggy souvenir. His additional services include watering plants, rotating lights and window curtains, bringing in mail and news- papers, taking trash cans in and out, and trips to the vet or dog groomer. He emphasizes that under his super- vision owners have total assurance that their homes and pets will be in perfect condition when they return. A typical visit is 30 minutes but can easily last an hour or more. Charges are based on the number of calls. He always leaves records of what he did and how the pets behaved. His favorite time is exercising dogs. His routine anticipates risk. "I always put them on a lead, and I walk on the left side of the road, taking care that the animals are also on my left, far from any traffic." He knows each dog's favorite territory from the mandatory preliminary interview he scheduled with its owner. It is during these strolls, Gaberman confesses, that he thinks about the, meaning of life and his good fortune to retire from law while he is young. A graduate of Oak Park High School and Wayne State University Law School, he founded his own firm, specializing in personal injury and family practice. "I was in the trenches," he remarks, "working 80 hours a week. When I turned 40, I decided I could afford to retire and be a stay-at-home dad. "After a year at home, I learned the real meaning of hard work and began looking for a retirement busi- ness. I hoped to find something wonderful. "I read an article about a pet-sit- ting service, and I knew immediately it was for me. Law is adversarial. Now my clients appreciate me every sec- ond, and they're always happy. Gaberman and his wife Pam, who live in Orchard Lake, were always animal lovers. In their early married days, they tried to care for a Great Dane puppy when both were work- ing. "If our service had existed then," he says, "we might have been able to keep our Great Dane instead of suf- fering the anxiety we felt having to give him up." Since then, the Gabermans have owned numerous pets including Siamese cats, parrots, a cockatoo and a Weimaraner. Gaberrnan acknowledges he has a passion for pets but feels his wife's attachment maybe even stronger. "I've never met anyone as crazy for dogs and cats as Pam. She goes to the Franklin and Birmingham art fairs )5 every year because there's always so many appealing dogs there. She's too busy petting the dogs to look at the art. The Gaberman children, Jacob, 7, and Rachel, 5, occasionally accompa- ny the pets on their rounds, ready to pet, hug and assist with the clients if their owners approve. So far, the service's client base has grown steadily with referrals and mailbox announcements. He contin- ues to learn all he can about pet care. (±, He recently completed a Red Cross program on pet first aid and carries a well-stocked emergency kit to each pet visit. "Name a pet product; I've probably got it," he says. At present, he and his wife are the sole staff, but he anticipates hiring "a very honest, meticulous and special animal lover" as another pet sitter. Gaberman prizes the close relation- ships he has built with area veterinari- ans and groomers; they are sources of referrals, and he, in turn, refers clients to them. He doesn't see himself as competi- tion to kennels, just "an alternative. Some animals do very well in a boarding kennel; others do not. The owner knows best. " He has already accumulated a "happy client list," which includes Dr. Joel and Kamala Perlson of Franklin, Marilyn Charnes of Walled Lake and Margo Bloomberg of West Bloomfield. He illustrates one advantage of pet care at home with a quote from Beth Lockwood of Wolverine Lake: "For the first time, Bailey was happy and not mad at us for going on vacation." Mark Jackowitz of Commerce Township wrote an appreciative note about his Labrador retriever, Hoover: "To be able to go on vacation and know that our first 'child' is in good hands is very comforting." The hours are long, there are no uninterrupted weekends and, Gaberman admits, Per sitting is not the fastest way to get rich." But he is proud of his venture and may have found nirvana: "What I'm doing now doesn't feel like work at all." fl ( Memo Peter D. Goldman has joined PRS Contracting Inc. as vice president. PRS is a full-service commercial gen- eral contractor/design build company. Robert E. Kass was recently invited by Women's American ORT to speak to