Dates: Mid May to early June 17th May-3rd June
Location: Village outside Chichester
Country: UK
Link to Listing URL (post on new line below to show feature box)
Request: We urgently need to find suitable sitters to help us. Unfortunately a perfect sitter accepted yesterday then cancelled overnight, so we need to restart.
We have VERY willing neighbours who can also add some walking/“me time” support if required. We can also be flexible on our return dates. Please take a look at the details.
Thank you!
Simon
(Post & title edited by the Forum team to include dates).
It might be difficult to find a sitter as you say Orwell can’t be left at home. Good luck, but it would be a good idea to have a plan b)
Damn I would do it if on that side of the world, sucker for black labs. Although I would not normally choose a dog that can’t be left alone, it is so dog friendly in the UK it’s not that hard to take them everywhere with you. Good luck, he looks lovely.
With Orwell having had so much change in his short life; you just fostering him recently and now leaving him for 3 weeks with strangers, have you built in a day’s overlap so that he has some time to adjust to new people with you both there to reassure him?
Thanks for the feedback.
That’s why we’re ideally looking for couples to allow the flexibility (as we personally did for a similar sit). As I mention also, we have neighbours who are VERY keen to help with walks and breaks to allow sitters to go off on their own.
Rgds
Simon
Thanks Cathie. Everyone does need “me time” which our neighbours (labrodor owners) are completely open to helping with as mentioned.
This area in particular is totally dog friendly: lots of farmers and shoots with labs/spaniels and the National Park and coast are fully dog-available.
Even my golf club hosts this: Goodwoof | Dog Show & Event in Chichester, West Sussex | The Kennels
We have
…no way a dog of ours was ever left with a completely unknown person.
Minimum video call. One in one meet as well is a huge advantage.
It would be helpful to add these extra details to your listing so that potential sitters are fully aware, as most sitters are not reading the forum.
If there is a handover overlap, explain clearly that you won’t be leaving until xx time, so there will be an overlap period with you for Orwell to get to know the sitter.
It would also help to be more specific about how often the neighbours are willing to take the dog — for example, daily or once or twice a week — and for how long. Clarify whether they will work around the sitter’s schedule, or whether the sitter would need to plan trips out around the neighbours’ availability.
As sitters can’t contact you before applying to ask these questions, including these details in the listing would make things much clearer.
A meet and greet prior to the sit start date is not the norm as sitters are unlikely to be living locally but rather will be travelling to your location for a travel experience.
Thanks for the feedback: I will make some changes.
I would add, however, the when we do housesits ourselves, we insist on meet and greets and have done so wherever practical when people come to us. This has 100% allowed us yo avoid “bad sits”.
Why? We don’t want to stay in what might turn out to be an unpleasant place or with a dog which, for whatever reason, is not what was expected. Nor do we want our own sitters to feel misled in any way.
Each to their own, however mutual respect and openness is key to this community I feel.
Rgds
Simon