Hikeeba Cares

More Information

Don’t just go with that first applicant (if it’s not me). Take your time and find the perfect fit (me).

PAWS, PROSE, and Purrs
Specializing in long-term assignments
And pets requiring special care
Fees negotiable

Hikeeba Cares
Private. *** Confidential
*Booking now for
01 August 2020 - Winter Break

Non-Smoker, Pescatarian, Non-Drinker

House- and Pet-sitting have been a part of my life since my late teens, about forty-three years. Often clients have searched me out because of my experience and sparkling personality. See? *smiling*

Many homeowners feel most comfortable leaving their homes and pets in the care of a writer. Authors are quiet, home more, with more time to hang with your pets.

I am an author, copy editor, reviewer -- working in fiction and nonfiction. I’ve published a novel, several short stories, hundreds of reviews, articles, essays, interviews, a haiku, and a limmerick. Plus, when I sit dogs, I take them with me everywhere I go, if it is all right with you.

The homes and other properties I have been entrusted with varied from a bedsit the size of a monk's cell to something that may have been Hogwarts. (I'm not sure; things kept shifting around.)

I will be over from the U.S. so I will not have a vehicle, (but I am taking lessons to drive in the UK and Ireland.) I usually walk miles per day. I can cover longer distances by public transport. Dogs that will ride bus, train, tube, or cab with me? Who knows hat far we can go!

I was brought to Florida as a hostage by my parents when I was a month old. I've been trying to get out ever since.

I'm a sucker for architecture, from centuries old to the genius of Fieldend in Twickenham. Oast houses. Refurbished barns. Wow!

Why do I want to pet-sit? I love animals. Everyone says that, of course, but I love animals too much to stay with one. Or two. Or...how many?

If you can name a type of dog or cat, I've probably had experience with it, from a nine-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog who weighed forty-four kilos to a Havana Brown "Sphinx on Acid" who just happens to be the cat ruler of the world and my favourite so far.

As I tell every owner, don't just go with the first applicant; take your time and find the perfect fit.

Sometimes that means someone who fits with your household. And, it’s more fun when I have a smart little kiddo to show me around the neighbourhood or give me the lowdown on the best pubs and dog walks, Poundland, and, best of all, charity shops!

I like big dogs and snarky cats. I can take on just about any animals (Clients have left me with tells of terrorizing pets, only to find the beast asleep in my arms upon their return. I don’t know; maybe because I talk to animals the way I would talk to an intelligent human.

But I MUST exclude:
Chimps. Pit bull types, English bull terriers, bully dogs, anything on the Dangerous Dogs Act.

My mother was a dog breeder of many different kinds and my baby sister is a breeder of champion Cavs and French Bulldogs.

And we had weird pets: goats, chickens, ducks, and bees. Seems like I forgot something. . . Nope. It is gone now.

So I have had the chance for birthing babies, big and small. Along the way, older pets, yioung pets, timid, and wild pets have come my way and we all got along.

Not something I had planned, but I have dragged a yearling from the exposed spot where he was injured into the shade, staunched an animal's bleeding until I can carry or drive them to the vet, treated sand colic, dropper- and tube-fed runts of the litter, administered medications (including daily and multi-daily injections) to spooked animals, dealt with a bloodbath of a very large dog's first heat, and cared for a small farm of animals alone--- *deep breath* all of this for more than forty-three years.

I am not your average sitter. Having spent a lot of time in the British Isles and Ireland, I am not a tourist. Nor am I looking to break into acting, modelling, or the Great British Bake-Off. My primary concern is the animals.

I am embarrassed to say this, but my friends describe me as generous, kind, loyal, fiercely protective, with a somewhat shocking sense of humor, and far too honest. Oh, and I should have ‘Will Talk To Anyone’ tattooed on my forehead. (Not the most welcome trait in central London.)

House sitting is a chance to revisit the different neighbourhoods I have known and loved over the years and take in different styles of architecture, which have always been been irresistible for me. And if I can walk for km down the high street and around the neighbourhood, finding an pub with trivia night, grocery with Bottle Green), Poundland (everything else), and, best of all, charity shops (amazing surprises)!

And then, back to the flat, house, etc. to give it that cozy, don’t even THINK about it appearance.

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A trend that has minders concerned is the growing tendency for clients to dismiss landscapers and cleaners for the extent of the sit and rely on the sitters to fulfill these duties. These additional staff are on a different payroll, so taking on their tasks is not within the job description. For an increased fee, it is possible.