Retired, Reliable Animal Lovers

About this sitter

We are an active retired couple in our 60s who spent our formative years working outside of Australia mostly in Southern Africa where my husband was employed by US Company Johnson & Johnson. At this time I was employed as Secretary for the East London Chamber of Commerce in South Africa.
We did not realise it at the time but it was the beginning of our adventure into House Sitting for people who required their precious pets, homes & households to be cared for as if they were our own. As we came with only baggage and had good referees from J & J and Australia we were contacted by the President of the East London Rotary and asked if we were available to housesit their precious Louis and of course their property in East London while he & his wife were in USA for six weeks to attend a Rotary Conference and holiday. Following this housesit we were swamped with offers from numerous East London businessmen to look after their properties to such an extent that we did so for the next 3 years before we finally built a Cape Dutch house in Bonza Bay close to East London. Even after we lived in our own house, people still implored us to look after their properties when they travelled outside of Africa mostly to the UK & Europe. As we had made friends with most of these home owners we took on some House/Pet sitting assignments as a favour. During our time in Africa my husband and I travelled extensively to Kenya, (Rhodesia) Zimbabwe, Namibia (South West Africa) Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Wild Coast, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Sri Lanka to name a few.
Early in 1980 my husband was transferred back to Australia as Research Manager J & J Sydney Australia and then as Product Manager for J & J Baby Products International. I was lucky enough to become Private Secretary for Australia’s first Family Law QC in Sydney. We made our home in Castle Hill NSW and had a son who is now 29yrs old and working in Finance Industry in Sydney.
We retired to Gold Coast in Queensland Australia where I am a Volunteer for The Benevolent Society (Australia’s oldest Charity) 2 days a week and my husband is a Volunteer for Queensland Wild Life Management in our National Parks once a month.
Both my husband & I enjoy outdoor activities including Swimming, Surfing, Kayaking, Bush Walking & Diving and indoor activities such as reading novels, cards and board games such as chess and scrabble. I’m also a mad knitter and belong to a great group of women namely ‘Gold Coast Craft Queens – we weave, croquet and make a bunch of wonderful things for charity.
While working for J & J in South Africa & Australia my husband travelled on business to Europe & UK.

Why they want to house sit

We are interested in renewing our young passion & experiences in getting to know the local culture and customs of counties & their people, while giving a valuable service by looking after loved pets and prized homes.
We have had a number of cats and dogs over the years and miss them very much. We actually have an interloper living with us. ‘Smokey’ belongs to our neighbours but for the past 4 years has called our house home. She decided, after her owners two dogs had puppies at the same time (making 7 dogs at home) to find a quieter place to call home.
We enjoy having her living with us and when we are away her owners feed her and look after things.
When we left South Africa we couldn’t part with our beloved cats so they were sent to London, England where they spent 12 months in Quarantine before flying out to Sydney, Australia to spend another 3 months in Quarantine. When we visited them after the first month it was as if we hadn’t been apart. They had been very well looked after. We spent many more years together. Then along came Oscar, Mcgyver, Maggie, Smokey and Nilla.
Our son grew up with Mcgyver and Maggie, they were his siblings. He was devastated when they passed due to old age.

Their experience

We have house sat many home here and overseas.
We have also been Managers of a Complex of 155 town houses whilst living on the Gold Coast for 5 years.

What can they bring to the assignment

We had many wonderful years with all our animals and that is why we look forward to looking after your animals and showing them the love and care we shared with ours.
Wanting to travel more we decided not to have any animals for a little while, not banking on Smokey turning up. But life would be dull without her and we have neighbours on hand to look after her while we are away
We often look after our friend’s lovely Miniature Poodle while they travel Australia or go on an overseas holiday.
We can supply you with a number of References from people whose homes we have looked after in Australia and/or personal/Business references if required.
I have a ‘Blue Card’ as my Volunteering requires me to look after young children which require an up-to-date Police Check in Australia. Also over the years we have looked after a few young aspiring Japanese Baseball players for 12 months at a time. The Blue Card and Police Checks were required for this. We are non-smokers. If you would like to speak with us via Skype just email a date and time and we shall make ourselves available.