There’s something to be said about someone so popular they can’t walk from Lincoln Park to Eastern Market in less than 45 minutes. Kerith Grandelli, founder of Pets on the Hill, finds it a welcome change of pace from the 9 to 5 hustle of life in Washington.

“I worked for a nonprofit, and I wanted to get out of the office,” says Grandelli. That may be a goal we all have in common, but Grandelli found a way to make it work.

“I love animals, and I just started walking dogs,” she says. “It seemed like a good fit.”

Now as owner of a full-service pet-sitting business, Grandelli handles walks as well as in-home care for dogs and cats, whether that means caring for your canine while you’re off to the beach or being there to keep an eye on kitty if you’re faced with extra-long work days.

A business supported almost entirely by word of mouth, Pets on the Hill has yielded many happy, loyal customers around the Hill.

“I really take pride in being a member of the community,” says Grandelli, who has lived on Lincoln Park sine 1997. “I live her, I have a child here, I care about the neighborhood.”

In fact, her love of the neighborhood has dictated her service area – a limited radius between Lincoln Park and Eastern Market.

“I like walking out of my house and going to work,” she says. “I don’t even go to Stanton Park or Garfield. Too far.”

One might think this would limit her pet-care empire, but business is good enough that she employs a handful of other dog walkers to get all the pooches out on the pavement. And just as Grandelli has taken a shining to her own corner of the Hill, she has kept her hiring process wonderfully close-knit and simple:

“I have a total of five walkers, and they’re all neighbors,” she says. “Pretty much everyone who works for me is a mom. They have kids in school, so the midday walks work really well with their schedules.”

Knowing and trusting her employees is a must for Grandelli, which makes her system even better.

“I’m very specific about who I hire. I want to know that I can trust them. And they live so close that if anything goes wrong, I knows they’re right around the corner.”

Having worked for another dog-walking agency before starting her own, Grandelli knows how to handle groups of dogs and takes care to assemble her walking groups to best suit her four-legged clients.

“When someone calls, I’ll ask what kind of dog, where it came from, how long they’ve had the dog and how well it gets along with others.”

From there, she assembles groups of three to four – “my thing is to keep things small” – and spends time introducing them before taking them out.

“Socializing is really important, especially around here because of the big pet-walking community,” she says. “You don’t want to have to pull your dog away because it can’t play. If they’re good in general, then it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s just a matter of introducing the dogs, and I’m good at that.”

Perhaps the most uniquely personal part of the business, and the part Grandelli takes the most pride in, is her honest concern for the people around her.

“It’s about being a member of the community. I do know the dogs, and I care about them, and I care about the clients,” she says. “If they lose a key, they can just call and get one from me. I have clients whose houses I watch when they go out of town, making sure papers don’t pile up. It’s like an automatic neighborhood watch.”

“I like to think of myself as full service. You always get me on the phone, I’m a walker, and I’m completely involved.”

Being completely involved with so many pets all day long may leave one wondering if she’s got any of her own.

“I have cats,” she laughs. “I’m that old cat lady, except I have a husband and a kid.”

Even so, she admits she has a bigger family than that.

“I like to think I have 100 dogs, I just don’t have to take them home with me.”

To talk to Kerith about your pup or Persian, call 202-546-6785