The Savvy Sitter at the 2026 FPSA Summit: Building Bridges in Jacksonville
One of the things we believe strongly at The Savvy Sitter is that professional pet care never stops evolving.
Continuing education, networking, sharing ideas with other pet-care professionals, and staying involved in the larger industry all help us bring better knowledge, stronger systems, and more thoughtful care back to the pets and families we serve.
That is exactly why our founder, Savanna Westwood, was excited to attend the 2026 Florida Pet Services Association Summit, held August 13–15 in Jacksonville.
This year was especially meaningful because Savanna attended not only as the owner of The Savvy Sitter, but also as the current President and Co-Founder of the Florida Pet Services Association.
Building Bridges in Florida’s Pet-Care Industry
The theme of this year’s Summit was “Building Bridges,” and it was a fitting reflection of what FPSA was created to do.
The event brought together 45 pet-care professionals and speakers from across Florida and beyond for several days of education, networking, conversation, and connection.
For Savanna, being part of the Summit is always a reminder of just how much the professional pet-care industry has grown.
Pet sitters and dog walkers often spend much of their working day independently—driving between visits, caring for pets, communicating with clients, managing schedules, and handling the many moving pieces that come with running a professional pet-care business.
Events like the FPSA Summit give professionals a rare opportunity to come together in person, learn from one another, exchange ideas, and build relationships with people who truly understand the work.
From The Savvy Sitter to FPSA
Savanna founded The Savvy Sitter, Pet Sitting and Dog Walking, LLC in 2015 with a focus on providing professional, dependable pet care to families throughout Winter Garden, Windermere, and Horizon West.
As her involvement in the pet-care industry grew, so did her belief in the importance of creating stronger connections among Florida pet-care professionals.
That vision eventually helped lead to the creation of the Florida Pet Services Association, which Savanna co-founded and now serves as President.
For her, FPSA has always been about more than simply hosting events.
It is about creating a professional community where pet-care business owners can learn from each other, share experiences, make connections, and continue raising the standard of care throughout Florida.
Seeing that vision come together in Jacksonville with 45 professionals and speakers in the room made this year’s Summit especially meaningful.
Continuing Education Matters
Professional development has always been an important part of how we operate at The Savvy Sitter.
The pet-care industry involves much more than simply loving animals. Professional pet sitters and dog walkers need to understand animal behavior, safety, communication, emergency preparedness, business operations, client service, and countless other areas that affect the quality of care they provide.
The FPSA Summit created opportunities for attendees to learn from experienced speakers, ask questions, exchange ideas, and bring new strategies back to their own businesses.
Attendees were also eligible to earn 10 continuing education units through Pet Sitters International.
For Savanna, these opportunities are part of a much larger commitment to professional growth—both for herself and for The Savvy Sitter team.
Sometimes the most valuable ideas come from a presentation.
Other times they come from a conversation over coffee, a discussion between sessions, or hearing how another business owner approached a challenge differently.
All of those experiences help us continue learning.
Celebrating Florida Pet Professionals
One of the highlights of the Jacksonville Summit was celebrating the businesses and professionals who continue helping move the industry forward.
This year, Walk the Walk Professional Pet Care was recognized as the 2026 Florida Pet Business of the Year.
Recognition like this gives our industry a chance to celebrate something that pet-care professionals understand very well: there is an incredible amount of work happening behind the scenes.
Professional pet care means early mornings, evening visits, holiday schedules, Florida heat, afternoon thunderstorms, last-minute problem solving, and being there when pets and their families are counting on you.
Those efforts deserve to be recognized.
Bringing What We Learn Back Home
While the Summit is an FPSA event, the experience does not stay in Jacksonville.
Savanna brings those conversations, ideas, and lessons back to The Savvy Sitter.
Continuing to participate in industry education helps us evaluate how we communicate with clients, train our team, improve our systems, prepare for emergencies, and provide the level of professional care our clients expect.
It also gives us the chance to stay connected with the wider pet-care community and learn from professionals facing many of the same challenges and opportunities that we are.
For our clients, that means the people caring for their pets are not operating in a bubble.
We are actively participating in our profession, continuing our education, and helping shape conversations about what professional pet care should look like.
A Special Perspective as President and Co-Founder
There is also something a little different about attending an event that you helped build.
As the current President and Co-Founder of FPSA, Savanna has had the opportunity to watch the association grow from an idea into a community of pet-care professionals supporting one another throughout Florida.
Standing in Jacksonville and seeing professionals learning together, exchanging ideas, laughing, making connections, and forming new friendships was a reminder of why the association was created in the first place.
The theme Building Bridges was not simply a slogan for the weekend.
Those bridges can become referral relationships, friendships, mentorships, collaborations, educational opportunities, and support systems between business owners who may otherwise never have met.
And when pet-care professionals support and educate one another, the entire industry becomes stronger.
Thank You, Jacksonville
We are incredibly grateful to the speakers, attendees, volunteers, board members, sponsors, and industry partners who helped make the 2026 FPSA Summit possible.
Organizations including Time To Pet, Pet Sitters International, and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters helped support an event centered around education and professional growth.
Most importantly, thank you to the 45 pet-care professionals and speakers who showed up ready to learn, share, connect, and continue building a stronger pet-care community.
Savanna returned home to Winter Garden with plenty of new ideas, conversations to continue, and an even greater appreciation for the professionals who make up this industry.
Bringing Professional Pet Care Back to Our Community
For The Savvy Sitter, being involved in organizations like FPSA is one more way we continue investing in the quality of care we provide.
Since 2015, our goal has been to provide reliable, professional, compassionate pet sitting and dog walking to families throughout Winter Garden, Windermere, and Horizon West.
That means loving the pets in our care—but it also means investing in education, professional standards, our team, and the future of the pet-care industry.
The Jacksonville Summit may have lasted only a few days, but the conversations and connections created there will continue long after everyone returned home.
And that is exactly what building bridges is all about.
About the Author:
Savanna Westwood
Savanna Westwood is the Owner and Founder of The Savvy Sitter, Pet Sitting and Dog Walking, LLC. She has grown up with animals all her life and enjoys spending time with them. Savanna has lived in the Winter Garden and Windermere Area for over 30 years. When she is not taking care of Fur Friends, one can find her reading, practicing archery, riding, and devising ways to provide additional and excellent services to clients. Savanna is a Certified Professional Pet Sitter with Pet Sitter International's CPPS certification and also holds certification in Pet First Aid and CPCR for Pet-Care Professionals.
