Daily Sitter

[JacksinParadise]

Hey All,

I’m wondering if anyone has used this service for local pet care, as opposed to overnight pet sitting?

I live in a tiny country, where inside dogs are a relatively new concept.

I’m looking for a sitter for my jacks, one was raised downtown in a large city. So my approach with my dogs is much different than usual for this location. I need to make sure that if we do move back to a large city and a small apartment, that we’re still unevictable

I’ve found a sitter on here that I think would be a really good fit, so I’m wondering if anyone else has worked out any other type of arrangement with a sitter.

It’s still like a vacation during the day as our home is its own little paradise, and I would LOVE the ability to travel. I’m just not there yet lol

[LizBCN]

When you say “this service” do you mean Trusted Housesitters? If so I am afraid it is not permitted - sits must be overnight for the duration of the sit otherwise the fair exchange of accommodation for pet care isn’t met. This is part of the terms and conditions of the site.

[Chrissy]

This is an exchange system for living in looking after your home and pet. It isn’t the right place for a daily visit. Usually adds for that would be removed .

[Silversitters]

Welcome @JacksinParadise
You have come to the right place , this forum is a great place to get your questions answered .

The photos of your home look great . However, THS isn’t the right place for drop in or day-time only visits - it’s about mutual exchange and provides the sitter with a place to stay overnight for a minimum of 1 night ( usually more).

You will likely need to pay for that kind of service but it’s not available on THS which is a free service . Meaning sitters don’t get paid . In fact sitters pay membership fees to join and pay their own expenses (e.g travel to your home ).

Here’s a link to the official answer from THS you can find it in the Help section

Do sitters offer day care?

[Marion]

If you visited the site and see some of the “how it works” videos, you’ll have a better understanding. Sitters are not paid to sit. They pay the same membership fee you do. They use their petcare/housesitting skills to barter for free accomodations when they travel. This works great for petparents who’d also like to travel and want to be able to leave their pets home and make sure they are well-cared for by another member.

[JacksinParadise]

Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear.

I did not assume I wouldn’t pay or there wouldn’t be an exchange. As I stated I would also love to travel if that became an option.

I simply need to connect with someone locally here. As I noted there aren’t many options.

So my question is simply if anyone had done so and had any helpful information to add.

When I spoke with customer support regarding another query, they told me it was all good and quite common.

Since I had already carefully read and understood the site, and spoken to a human representative, my next step was to hopefully get some experiential insight on the forum.

Has anyone expanded the relationship they built on the site to include other arrangements?

If not, no worries, I promise I’m solid on the concept and have also read the blurb on the main page. No need for further clarification there.

[Silversitters]

@JacksinParadise to connect with potential sitters on THS you have to create a listing and post actual house sit dates which have to include an overnight stay . There is no other way to connect and message a sitter on THS.

Once a sitter has actually house sat at your home ( without you being present ) you could continue to communicate with them and make an arrangement off the platform . But you have to start with listing an actual house/sit with live dates that include an overnight stay and you can’t stay at the home during the house sit.

[Maggie8K]

If there are expats where you are, usually the easiest thing is to ask, because some of them have probably dealt with this before and know someone to refer you to. Or maybe you can find other expats to switch pet sitting with.

[LizBCN]

Totally agree @Silversitters. I was suprised to read that customer support had advised it was “all good and quite common”. I can’t see how anyone would make contact with potential sitters without posting a listing as you say and that listing should comply with the THS requirements of it being a live-in sit.

[B1anca]

I have in the past built relationships with a couple of HOs where I might do some pet visits if I couldn’t make the sit dates work but I still wanted to help and it was convenient eg I was in the area anyway. Those arrangements were pretty unusual though and usually started with some normal longer sits and a huge amount of goodwill and kindness on both sides. I never received payment for this but the HOs made my life easier in some other way like letting me arrive a night earlier where that worked best for me or drop off a bag before my sit started and also were just generally great people who showed their appreciation.

There are paid services and also local FB groups you could try if that is the arrangement you are looking for rather than a standard sit.

[BJane]

I’ve done day visits for HOs who I have previously done ‘live in’ sits for, like when they have a long day out. However, only when I’m living in the city where they are based.

If you’re in a place where there are few such people (long term expats) living then I think it’s unlikely people would want to do that because it would involve them renting a property so they can do day visits to your dog. I think you probably need to pay a local person to visit in that way.

[JacksinParadise]

Ok cool yeah that is helpful.

The sitter I’m hoping to chat with lives about 2 minutes away, and it would be literally impossible for someone to live more than an hour away lol

I get that it’s unconventional. Any time I try to explain this country to people they don’t believe me lol So I’m just trying to get creative

Maybe what I’ll do is book ME a staycation, and see if the sitter I’m hoping for is also interested in a staycation at my current place. Frankly sometimes is nice to be a tourist here. Trying to actually live here is kind of a nightmare sometimes, but it’s an awesome place so those nightmares are worth it.

At least if I post and we could chat, she could get to know us and we could talk about my other places. Because I get the point of the site is to see the world and travel, and I’m more than happy to offer that in exchange.

And obviously if we make what may seem like an unconventional arrangement I’m all ALL about making sure that person gets what’s they deserve for the value they add to my life. What they hope to get from being on the site.

Frankly there are very few cases where I would feel comfortable not paying someone to watch my dogs. Pet parents know how time consuming that can be, and how the smallest thing can throw off any fun plans you may have had.

In terms of expats or someone not familiar with the area, I don’t think there’s any way on the planet I’d leave them to fend for themselves here without a crash course or a few days to learn the ins and outs of alllllllllllll of what this island entails outside of a hotel or resort lol Frankly it would just be mean and I’m not down to make someone have a mental breakdown when what they’re looking for is a vacation lol

Especially with dogs, it can be complicated if there is a hiccup. We have so many stray dogs by us, and they’re all good and they mix with all the pet dogs and they all seem healthy and happy (which makes me so much less of a cryer when I see a stray around here). But frankly even I have trouble picking mine out of the crowd if he escapes and joins the full out circus of dog racing chaos on our road after dinner lol There’s a strong possibility of them being hit by a car, or by a person if they end up too far out. We don’t have large predators but monkeys can take some finesse. They would have to make dog food and it is NOT advised to cook between 4-7 PM ever so you can’t forget to prep in the AM. There’s definitely bugs. We don’t have AC and though it’s not needed for someone who is used to it, it can be mentally taxing. We have the pool but the dogs will also need to be comfortable so there’s a few extra things to do there. A lot of time and flexibility is needed for a sit like ours.

And as I said, no one ever believes me when I tell them how it is, so it would just be a disaster if they thought it was going to be easy or typical and didn’t take my words seriously. I’ve lived all over the world and I promise you, you will never be prepared for this as it’s incredibly unique. Without an open mind, and a creative soul, who can handle some strange and likely highly inconvenient bumps in the road, I just wouldn’t feel comfortable. For either party.

I’ve had to get from Caye Caulker to Cancun without my passport the day before everything shuts down for Easter so I didn’t miss my flight. There were chicken boats, long bus rides, a family with a van, secret border crossings, and a brothel for a bed to be able to sleep inside for the night. I frankly thought it was a hilarious and enlightening adventure. So if I’m saying it’s possible for it to be kind of brain breaking here, you can see my standards.

For local standards, my place is a nice quiet oasis to escape to with all the amenities you could ask for. No one even knows it exists, and everyone who visits is blown away (and jealous lol) So it really is a nice break even if you only live two mins away, AND Little Caesars still delivers within 30 mins which is also an epic perk for us lol

At the very least if someone is down for adventure travel, and not looking for the typical 5-star beach drinks and partying vacation, and has experience with tropical adventure travel, it might be a good fit for them. I would still be happy to go to a resort for a break for a couple of days for a break every once in a while since we get good locals rates. And I’d be close by to take over if needed so they could still make it to all the activities they hoped to do.

We are close to the adventure travel attractions, we are close to a gorgeous beach that is so nice and quiet, and we have our own pool at the cottage. There are also some really interesting historical sites, both official and free to explore with no rules. (Our wifi works too!!!) I also have a monster truck they can go to town with.

It’s just not what most people would be looking for when they think about our island so there may not be a tonne of people interested.

So maybe you can understand my hesitancy to take just any sitter, and why I’m willing to ask questions and be a bit unconventional. Regardless of some of the dismissive and slighty aggro comments on my topic.

It never hurts to try when your options are limited and your situation is unique. That’s how you build the experiences so many sitters on these sites are looking for.

Some people may be a bit more sheltered or rigid or whatever you want to call it. Or not have much interest in international travel (vacation is not the same as travel), and that’s totally cool.

But someone out there will recognize and find amazing value in what we have to offer if they’re willing to listen, and have an open mind.

For someone who likes travel, culture, history, learning, and wants lots of amazing places all around the world open to them at any time, for all of eternity (Even when they’re not wanting to dog sit anymore) we can give that. We have unique and sometimes fancy travel perks you certainly can’t buy. They would be surrounded by incredibly kind and fascinating people, who can guide them and become great friend connections. For some people on this site, that is the dream. That’s who I want.

I don’t think many listings offer that. On any site.

So I really do appreciate these latest comments. Genuine insights are always helpful. It helps me get a sense of how best to communicate our unique situation, which is what I was hoping for.

I’ll post today hopefully, and if you’ve read this comment and are at all intrigued by any part of it, feel free to hit us up

[Maggie8K]

You know your needs best for your pets and it might take creativity to see them taken care of. This platform isn’t meant to solve everyone’s situations, though, and there are terms of agreement, including overnight stays in exchange for pet sitting.

You can go hire someone, even if not via an any pet sitting platform. People are employed for various types of work where you are, so there should be other avenues for you to explore.

What your most recent post sounds like is that you’re trying to bend or break terms on this platform to get what you want, and that would not be cool if so.

[Peonie19]

I love how you keep the “secret” of where you are located, however I have an inkling I’ve been on the road of that “long bus ride” too. Yup, felt long!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll find the right person for your situation.