The Founders
Small World Pet Sitters, LLC is based in Brooklyn, NY and is owned and operated by both Ann Simkins and Boni Montellano, a wife and husband team, animals lovers, and long-time Brooklyn residents.
Ann & Boni are part of the Flatbush community and live locally. Whether you see them out feeding their managed cat colony, meeting with people in the neighborhood, or riding their bikes to their next pet sit, they love being part of the community and keeping their business hands-on.
If they aren’t taking care of your pets personally they have a team of caring and trustworthy sitters trained in the SWPS philosophy. As the owners they do all meet and greets and know each pet personally. They are in continual contact with their team and will respond immediately to anything out of the ordinary.
Ann has cared for animals since she was a little girl. Her first pets were Coco, a toy poodle, and Morris, an orange tabby. Ann, a professional photographer and the former art director of New York Living, began volunteering at KittyKind, a cat rescue and adoption group, in June of 2007 and served as its Director of Communications and Board Member until April 2010. She then joined with Small World Animal Rescue, no relation to Small World Pet Sitters, just a “small world”, that later merged with Brooklyn Animal Action. Ann had always wished to be more involved in the welfare of animals, and one day, when a friend asked Ann to house sit for her senior cat while she was away on vacation, the idea for Small World Pet Sitters, LLC was born. To further her animal welfare education, Ann attends seminars at the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals, the ASPCA, and Best Friends. Ann was president of her co-op board in South Midwood, from 2016-2019.
Boni has been around animals his entire life and has a deep respect for all living creatures. Raised in the farmlands of Mexico, Boni cared for chickens, turkeys, goats, horses, and cows. When he was eighteen, his family gave him a calf, which he named “Sarda.” Sarda became Boni’s pet, and she lived a long and happy life on his family’s farm until she passed away from old age. Boni has been a KittyKind event volunteer. In addition to his animal caretaking experience, Boni is a diesel mechanic by trade and a self-taught artist. He was a long-standing member of Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, where his work was shown annually. His oil-paintings have been sold to private art collectors and he is commissioned often for portraits. Ann and Boni continue to garden at the community garden they founded at their co-op in 2010.
How We Got Our Name
“When meeting one of our very first clients years ago a discussion about Law & Order started. I told the client my aunt was on a couple of episodes playing herself, a news reporter. A couple of weeks later my aunt called and said “You will never guess who I met at the Kennedy Center…” Turns out it was this same client! The client had asked my aunt to take a picture of her and some friends and they ended up chatting and introducing themselves. The client remembered my aunts name from our previous conversation in New York. Lo and behold, what a Small World it is! After hearing this story my uncle suggested we call our business Small World Pet Sitters.”
–Ann