Response rating:
Preferred locations
South Eastern, Melb. Inner suburbs, Melb. SE suburbs, SE Vic
Additional Info
References available, Non smoker, Experience with Domestic Animals
About
I am a mature, sensible and trustworthy person in my early 60's.
I work full-time 5 days per week, though can sometimes be flexible with the hours I work (if needed) when looking after pets. I currently work in Chadstone, VIC. When I have the time to do pet sitting jobs I prefer homes that are no more than 45 mins drive from Chadstone. Though when I'm planning on taking holiday leave I'm happy to do jobs in country towns or even interstate if the jobs are somewhere I'd like to visit.
Before first registering with Happy House Sitters (which was back in 2015) I looked after houses/pets for my family and friends quite often, sometimes just for weekends and sometimes for longer periods (when they were on overseas trips, etc). The longest house/petting job so far was for 8 weeks and one of the dogs in my care was not well and needed medications and injections administered daily and needed to visit the vet on several occasions. I was happy to do this, especially as I loved him like he was my own, but working full time does have limitations so I would prefer not to look after animals that need a higher level of care as it wouldn't be fair to them.
I love all animals, especially cats and dogs. They usually bond with me quite quickly unless they are particularly shy or fearful of strangers. I've often done repeat pet sitting jobs for the same home owners as they know they can trust me to look after their house and pets to the best of my ability. Having regular jobs means I get to spend time with the same pets over and over again, which is good for me as I miss them when I leave and also good for the pets as we just pick up where we left off the last time I looked after them.
I am very clean and tidy so if your home was in a clean and tidy state when you left it in my care it would be that way when you came home. Whilst I would be happy enough looking after a home that wasn't quite as tidy or as ordered as my own, I wouldn't be comfortable in a house that was dirty, unkempt or overly cluttered to begin with. I am also a non-smoker and would prefer to only stay in homes whose owners are also non-smokers. I find it's best to let owners know this straight up so when they're reading my profile they know whether I would be a suitable candidate or not.
Whilst staying in your home I would be more than happy if you wanted a friend or family member to come and check on the house and any pets occasionally. In fact, I would want to have someone to contact (if you were unavailable) in case of an emergency with either the house or your pets (or if I became ill or something that might make it difficult or impossible for me to continue the housesitting job).
Though I would never throw a party or invite a large group of people to visit me whilst caring for your home, I would like to be able to invite a friend or family member over for a drink, or to lunch or dinner on the odd occasion, especially if the house sitting job was a long one over several weeks or months. I would ensure any visitors treat your home with the utmost care and respect and would ensure any animals I was looking after were comfortable and happy around those visitors before allowing them inside.
I'm more than happy to keep owners updated as much as they wish on anything they wanted to know about their home or their pets whilst they're away. I would also be more than happy to take photos & videos of pets and email or SMS them (or post on Facebook or send via Messenger). I have done that with all my housesits to date as I know owners like to see how their pets are doing whilst they're away.
I haven't had a police check done as it's not been required by anyone to date as most of my jobs have come about by one owner recommending my services to their family and friends. The references attached to my profile are the original ones uploaded when I first joined Happy House Sitters. I could (if needed) ask one of my regular owners to provide an up to date reference.
If you feel I might be the right person to housesit for you then please don't hesitate to contact me.
Regards, Linda