Lorrie DeNiro

Hello, my name is Lorrie DeNiro, professional pet sitter, and veterinary nurse. I have worked in the veterinary field since 1998 and have been pet sitting since 2001. Since childhood I've known that my career was destined to be animal related. At one time I wanted to be a veterinarian, but attended school to become a veterinary nurse instead. I began helping out a pet sitter friend in 2001 with some of her jobs and discovered that I loved this new profession that was rapidly gaining momentum. So, in 2002 Zookeepers Pet Sitting (Las Vegas Branch) opened for business. I continued working part time at a local pet hospital while building my business, and then eventually in 2005 was able to devote full time to pet sitting. I've continued to do temp and relief work as a nurse when the opportunity has arisen, and have been happily and successfully caring for pets in their own homes for over 10 years now.

In March 2012 I teamed up with Sue Villella, a friend and colleague (also a veterinary nurse), in order to work together in growing and expanding Zookeepers to include a San Diego branch.

I am happily married over 20 years to Joe, a massage therapist. I am the mother of 4, and grandmother to 2. My animal "kids" include 3 cats, a pomeranian and 2 parrots.

Sue Villella

Hi, my name is Sue Villella. I was born into a middle-class working family in Marin County, California. My father was a land surveyor by trade. However, that was not his first love. He served in the California Conservation Corp in a fire look-out station on Mt. Whitney and had always been a huge nature lover. Throughout our upbringing our father took us camping and hiking and taught us to love and respect nature. I was the youngest child behind my 2 brothers and our family’s 2 cats (that my father rescued from a vacant lot). I made it my job to drag these poor kitties around the house everywhere I went and I witnessed the miracle of birth when they had their kittens. As I grew up, I acquired dogs, bunnies, turtles, fish, rats… I loved every one of our pets.

When I entered the work force as an adult, I started working in the insurance industry (where I stayed for 23 years). In 1999 my husband (Frank) and I moved to Las Vegas. As time went by, I realized something was lacking in my life. I did not love my job, or for that matter, didn’t even like it. So, after some sole searching, I enrolled in the Veterinary Technology program at the College of Southern Nevada in 2004. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I fell right into the program. This is what I was destined to do. I had finally found what I wanted to do when I grew up. I graduated with honors in 2006 and I have been a Licensed Veterinary Technician (nurse) since.

For the past 7 ½ years I have been employed at a reputable Veterinary hospital here in town. That is where I first met, my good friend, Lorrie DeNiro. On the side, I have assisted Lorrie with some pet-sitting and have taken care of friends and neighbors pets when they went out of town. I love my job at the pet hospital, but decided to expand my career and joined up with Lorrie to provide in-home pet care on a full time basis.
I am very excited about this new chapter of my life. I look forward to meeting with you and providing the best quality care for your pets.

Sue