Experienced sitter looking for new furry friends

About this sitter

I am a research fellow and PhD candidate in the UK. My job gives me the flexibility and privilege of travelling - which I love! I was born and raised in Italy, but I live between the UK and Sweden these days.

I have done plenty of pet sittings over the years. I have volunteered in dog shelters and animal sanctuaries since I was 15yo. Gained lots of experience while travelling during my gap year and volunteered on a number of farms via Wwoof and Workaway in the US, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Scotland, South-West England and Ireland. I have worked with llamas, cows, goats, pigs, horses, donkeys, dogs and cats. However, I do feel more confident with dogs, cats and equines.

I have a beautiful English Setter myself named Odin, and I usually try to foster a dog or a cat when I stay in one place long enough. When I am away looking after others' pets, Odin is either laying on a beach in Southern Italy or hiking in the Swedish countryside with my partner.

* IMPORTANT*
EQUINES: I have good knowledge of horse care and management, especially hoof care and common hoof problems. I use positive reinforcement to train horses and have worked with equine experts who use positive reinforcement, managed habituation, systematic desensitisation and counter-conditioning.
I am passionate about understanding animal behaviour and applying this knowledge to improve animal welfare. I am interested in force-free and fear-free ways to motivate horses, and to better communicate with them.
I believe that safety, comfort, freedom, friends and food are pre-requisites to ethical training, and not things that the horse should ever be expected to work to earn.

DOGS: I am not comfortable using any form of aversive training technique that uses positive punishment and/or negative reinforcement, and I am absolutely against aversive training tools such as prong collars, e-collars etc. So if you are using any of the above and expect me to do the same while I am with your dog, please do NOT contact me.
On the other hand, if you use force-free training techniques or are interested in learning about it, I may just be the right person!
*Force-free training is the most up-to-date, science-based training approach*

I use force-free methods with ALL pets, without using pain, fear or force. So rest assured that either you have a cat or a goat, they will be treated with love and respect - when I interact with animals, all I seek is connection and trust.

Why they want to house sit

Currently working remotely and looking to help fellow pet-mamas/dads with their four-legs. As a dog mom myself, I know how difficult it can be to find the right person to trust.

House and pet sitting provides a perfect balance of intensive writing and relaxation by caring for pets, plants, and a home.

Their experience

I have over fifteen years of experience house/pet sitting. The opportunities to house/pet sit have been mutually beneficial as others' pets and homes have helped me progress in my research and writing while I also take great care of pets/homes.

I also have LOTS of farm experience, having volunteered on animal sanctuaries for years. My most recent experience was at My Lovely Horse Rescue in Co.Kildare, Ireland where I spent three months helping MLHR team managing one of their farms and looking after the many horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens that the charity has in its care. Daily tasks included: feeding, mucking out stables or paddocks, helping to move animals to different areas, providing enrichment and toys for the animals, field management such as fence fixing; various yard management tasks to keep the place organised, and, of course, spending time with all the animals, providing attention and companionship (grooming, exercising, training, documenting the process of certain animals with videos and photographs, etc).

References available upon request. Please do ask!

What can they bring to the assignment

I bring genuine and authentic care for your pets and homes. My goal is 1) to care for your pet(s) so that they do not miss you as much and 2) to leave your home spotless, so that when you return you will not even notice you were gone.

I do not smoke and I am mostly vegan.