When you’re seriously planning some time away from home, be it a holiday or business trip, feel free to contact us to see if we’re available. If we’re free on your dates we can start chatting and sorting out what your expectations are, and we can both see if the sit arrangements are going to work. This is the time to be upfront about your expectations of us regarding pet and home care, security etc. Some homeowners like to meet us in person before deciding and if we can manage that we will. If that all looks good and you want to offer us the sit we’ll confirm that and we consider that a firm arrangement binding on both parties.
Just before you depart (sometimes on the day, sometimes a bit further out if we’re nearby) we’ll arrive, meet you and any pets you might have and get a detailed briefing from you about what’s required while you’re away – and we’ll probably ask lots of questions about transport, supermarkets, cafes and all that neighbourhood stuff. Many homeowners prepare a sitters guide beforehand detailing what’s required, and that can save a lot of time when we meet you. That usually takes an hour or so, and after that you can head off on your trip knowing your home and pets are in good hands while you’re gone…and of course that’s when our responsibilities as house sitters start.
We’ll stay in your home, be it house, villa, apartment, or mansion and we’ll keep it looking lived in. We’ll sleep there, cook and eat there, and take care of all the regular things you’d do if you were at home: collecting the mail, keeping the grounds tidy, saying ‘hi’ to the neighbours, and keeping the home as you would keep it yourself… and obviously caring for any pets you might have. We provide our own food and cover all our personal expenses, but utilities are normally covered by you as the homeowner. Throughout the sit we’ll keep you regularly updated on how things are going, depending on your preferences; some people like to hear from us every week, sometimes it’s every few days. Then when it’s time to come home, we’ll coordinate with you and depart when you arrive, (or just before if you’d like) brief you on anything necessary and leave you to relax in your home, and get reaquainted with your fur buddies. Our experience has taught us that homeowners often come home exhausted from travel and just want to chill out in their home.
So, what’s in it for you?
Firstly, you’re reducing the stress on your pets as they don’t have to leave their safe home territory. Everything (apart from the fact that you’re not there) stays the same, and routine is big with cats and dogs. It’s our experience that pets will miss you for a few days and mope a little but generally cheer up after that. They’ll also get constant attention and observation, rather than being one of many in a pet boarding business. You also might be saving big money on those kennel or cattery fees. Secondly, there’s someone living in your home, keeping it looking lived in, checking the property daily and offering security, checking the mail, accepting deliveries, keeping things tidy.
And what’s in it for us?
As we’ve said earlier we get to enjoy the company of your pets and the hospitality of your home and suburb. As travelers we don’t have our own pets so we really appreciate the opportunity to make friends with your fur babies – and we love to poke around local areas trying out cafes and delis and doing a bit of sightseeing.
There’s a couple of things that as sitters we’re not able to accommodate. We’re sitters – not a cleaning or home handyperson service. We’ll keep things clean to your standards, but we’re there to mind your home and pets. We’ll take care of light home handyperson tasks such as changing light bulbs, oiling hinges etc and we will act for you in cases of emergency such as storm damage and pet illness. Also, and very importantly, we’re happy to care for your property and pets, but if there’s anyone else living on the premises, we won’t take on the sit. Sorry to be blunt, it’s not so that we can get up to mischief – it’s just not our thing and it raises sticky questions around our responsibilities.