Animal lovers wanting to travel

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More information about this house sitter

We live in the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney, Australia. I am a retired social researcher. My partner, Ian, is a semi-retired freelance researcher with visiting fellowships at Macquarie University and the University of New South Wales.

We are planning a 3 month holiday in the UK from April to June 2016 enjoying some of your beautiful old villages and countryside. It will be at a fairly relaxed pace. Ian is currently writing a book and wants to fit in some quiet time each day to make some progress on it.

We are both animal lovers and are involved with several animal welfare organisations.

We both enjoy gardening and grow our own vegetables as well as many flowering plants and shrubs. We are environmentally conscious and endeavour to live as sustainably as possible.

We are both keen photographers and are members of our local camera club. Walking is another shared hobby and take advantage daily of the many bush walks near our home.

We are non-smokers and very, very moderate drinkers.

We have had pets most of our lives, mostly cats and dogs. Our beloved 17 year old dog, Karla, died just before Christmas last. We used to have reciprocal dog-minding arrangements with friends but because of Karla's age, we weren't willing to leave her to travel over the last few years. We are now hoping to spend some time travelling overseas as well as in Australia.

We prefer to do our own cooking most of the time and having access to cooking facilities while staying in a house, as opposed to staying in a hotel, is much preferred. Houses are also much more pleasant places to stay than hotels, especially if they come with animals.

We have always enjoyed meeting the owners and have ended up spending a bit of social time with them. It has also been wonderful having a bit of local knowledge passed on.

I have had four housesits, on two of which Ian accompanied me.  The first was in Springbrook in a beautiful part of Queensland looking after a dog alone.  The second was with Ian in Anavyssos in Greece looking after two dogs and two turtles.  The third was with a friend staying in Rylestone, New South Wales looking after a cat.   The fourth was with Ian in Nelson in New Zealand also looking after a cat.  All have been very successful from all perspectives.  I can send references if owners would like to provide an email address.

We are currently minding our neighbours' newly acquired rescue dog, Goldie one day a week. She was very timid at first but is coming along nicely. We were pleased to hear that she pulls her owners towards our place each time they take her on walks.

We also mind friends' cat from time to time but she must unfortunately stay in her own home and we just go there to feed her and play at meal times.

As we both love animals, looking after pets is no chore. Pets, in fact, are a bonus. Our dog, even in her dotage, insisted on at least two walks a day and we enjoyed the walks as much as she did. So dog walking would not be an issue. We even used to take a cat for a walk in our New Zealand house sit.

We are very respectful of owners' property and have always left their houses and gardens in at least as good condition as we found them. We have been invited back but couldn't oblige because of our elderly dog.

Ian is very experienced at home maintenance and does most of it around here. I have also done my share of it over the years.

We are happy to answer any questions you might have. Read more...