Hi there!
This is a bit of a long post , but I need to set the scene before the question I’m posting.
I don’t have a dog at the moment and I’m a grey “digital nomad” as I need to work on the USA time zone at least for the next 2 years before returning to Australia. It’s been amazing and this lifestyle suits me perfectly.
Earlier this year before I started house sitting I befriended and cared for a deaf and mute lady who has stage 4 cancer. I also ended up looking after her assistance dog named Charlie. Kind story short, we all became very close, especially charlie and I and charlie treated me like part of the family:pack
The chances of this woman making it are becoming slimmer and she has bequeathed charlie to me if anything happens. Charlie is a gold standard assistant dog, so well behaved he puts other dogs to shame. He sits lies and heels to sign language and he’s been taught not to take any notice of other animals, as part of his “job”. He’s a blue heeler and loves his job and is in work mode even with me alone when I used to care for him when his owner was in hospital.
Me being the new owner could technically happen quite soon. If it does I’m going to have to have Charlie with me on housesits until i eventually return to Australia in 2 years.
Is this common for owners to accept a sitter with a dog? How common ?
Thank you for your input
We would love to accept sitters who bring their dog, but learned that we can’t. A sitter who lives nearby visited us with her dog, to find out how it would work with our 3 dogs. As expected that worked very well, but her dog immediatelly started chasing our chickens and grabbed one. We could have known, because it’s normal dog behaviour, but just did not think of it in advance. For our dogs the chickens and other animals on the land are part of the herd and they won’t toch them, but for other dogs it are walking treats. So there can be good reasons to refuse sitters with a dog.
(Btw: the caught chicken survived; she only lost half of her feathers.)
Charlie sounds AMAZING, but you have some things to think about.
(1) Would you be able to take him back to Austalia? What are those laws like?
(2) Clearly there are SOME pet parents who would be won over by this story, but many won’t be able to accept you. What happens then?
Given 1 and 2, is there anything you can do besides taking him yourself, that would be helpful? If you’ve been doing a lot of sitting, do you know any pet parents who might be interested in adopting this dog?
@Soultreader
There are other sitters on here who travel with their dogs. It may limit the sit options available but there are some hosts happy with this arrangement.
Obvs if your circumstances change for any sits that you already have lined up- you would need to check with the hosts as it may not be ok with them to bring Charlie along too.
All the best for your future travels and I am sure that knowing you will take care of Charlie is giving your friend peace of mind and having Charlie will provide some comfort if you do loose your friend .
Enjoy the precious time you three have together now and try not to spend too much time worrying about the future. Things will work out one way or another.
Taking him back to Australia wouldn’t be an issue and I plan to go back in 2025 so that’s not the concern. Nor is it impeding on my lifestyle as he’s considered a Gold Standard qualified assistant dog internationally I can basically take him anywhere.
It’s in the meantime. I do actually want to keep Charlie. I’ve become very close to him and the owners main concern about dying is where would Charlie go? As Charlie isn’t just a pet, he’s been her assistant dog which is essentially part of the owners who have a disability.
So bottom line, I’d keep my word. It’s just finding sits that accept the dog, otherwise it’s Airbnb for me!
Thanks and this is what I’m afraid of. All dog owners will say their dog doesn’t bark, chase, and is totally socialised with other animals which is totally understandable. But Charlie actually has the certification to prove that he won’t. However unless people actually meet Charlie, that’s a hard call to make and it’s counterproductive to fly to a destination just to have a meet and greet, especially if the pet owner had few applicants.
We have done many sits with our own dog. Sadly she passed away last year so is no longer our travelling companion. It’s very possible to take your own dog along but there are some things to consider. Firstly, your dog needs to have impeccable manners and behave well with other animals. You have to be 100% confident of this. We also had a golden rule to never leave her unattended with the homeowner’s pets at anytime.
You will inevitably not be chosen for some sits because of your doggie companion, but once we actually got chosen because of her and the fact that she was from a rescue center.
It helps that when homeowners review you they also mention how easy it was to have your dog there too.
Please don’t let it put you off. Anything is possible
