Experience makes a difference!

About this sitter

Extremely reliable, responsible, very experienced housesitter. Capable, mature (but fit and healthy), non-smoking, Australian professional. Prefer longer sits (3+ weeks), so I can live more like a local. Currently living in the US, but travel elsewhere very regularly.

Happy to consider anywhere I can get to. Generally prefer longer-term (3+ weeks), rather than short-term housesits, although if you have a short-term one, I'll try very hard to find another one nearby with which to combine it.

Why they want to house sit

Quite simply, because I've always loved travel - slow travel, that is (definitely not of the "today's Tuesday, so it must be Belgium variety”). And combining working remotely as a freelance writer/editor with housesitting is a winning combination for me. With the added bonus of pets to take care of and enjoy!

Their experience

Very! As well as housesitting stints in pre-internet days (that's dating me), I've been doing it now for several years and in several countries. I've taken care of dogs, cats (and am a lifelong dog/cat lover), fish, chickens, birds, hermit crabs, rabbits, hamsters, a peahen, and an ancient tree frog in my time. I seem to have unintentionally developed a minor "specialty" with chickens, after several sits involving same - up to 2 dozen on several occasions. Ditto for Siamese cats - although only 1 or 2 of those at a time! And I’ve even looked after one none-too-friendly goat! That was ... um ... “challenging", shall we say?. I've had to administer pills to dogs, and oral meds, pills, and an inhaler to cats – and even managed to do so without getting scratched or bitten.

What can they bring to the assignment

As a home-owner myself, I know how crucially important it is to have someone you can completely trust in your home, and caring for your pets/plants/garden. Plenty of experience dealing with household emergencies: both minor ones like the water heater dying, and major ones, like (in one place I house-sat for, years ago), the ceiling collapsing! Not because of anything I did, I hasten to add.

Because I work remotely, I'm “at home” a great deal to provide plenty of love and attention to pets. I take your privacy and trust in me very seriously, along with respecting your neighbours’ peace and quiet. I always aim to leave a place even cleaner that when I arrived.

I can provide plentiful references from other sites (country-specific ones, plus the largest international site) and offline, a criminal history check, and a background check, and am more than happy to give you any other documentation you need to feel entirely confident about me. Many of the people I've sat for have become good friends, and are very willing to talk to a houseowner who's considering picking me as their housesitter.

Keen gardener, with something of a green thumb, so promise I won't kill your plants! Happy to weed and mow lawns for you. Having lived for many years in Minnesota in the US and Adelaide, South Australia, I'm no stranger to weather extremes at either end of the spectrum: heatwaves, humidity, cold, snow, and ice. And I must be the only lunatic who'd actually choose to housesit in Winnipeg, Canada (the country's coldest city) for 4 months in an even-colder-than-usual winter!

Please feel free to message for more info.

P.S. As a kid, I always used to feel really, really boring when my school report cards invariably said "Very responsible." Now I value that - and I'm still very responsible!