My husband and I have wanted a dog for years, but we’ve known it wasn’t the right time for us, with two cross-country moves in three years and other personal life challenges.
We both care about spending time with our families, who live 1000 miles apart. 6 months ago, we finally moved to the area we plan to stay near my family, and we have a 3-month sitting trip to visit his family this summer. We are so happy to be settling down and that TH has provided us with an affordable way to live our dream lifestyle. Ideally, we would do something similar every year. (We are remote workers.)
The problem is… when do we get our own dog? Obviously not before our booked sits this summer. But if we have a dog by next summer, will we even be able to secure similar sits in the future? Or should I give up on one of the two dreams?
One obvious suggestion would be to become dual members and ask other sitters to care for our dog, but (a) I don’t really want to leave behind my pet for months at a time, and (b) we live in a small, plain apartment in an uninteresting area. Currently there are two sits listed nearby, both far more lovely homes than mine, both with zero applications. So I am hesitant to rely on this as a solution.
I also know that some hosts allow sitters to bring their own pets, but this seems to be rare, and I can’t blame hosts who don’t allow it. Especially because our preference is for medium to large dogs. So that also seems far from a certainty to bet our dream on.
I don’t exactly have a question, but after turning this over in my mind for a long time, I remembered I have a community here to commiserate with. Has anyone else faced a similar choice? Ideas I haven’t thought of? Success (or failure) stories of sitting with a pet? Gentle reminders that I can’t have my cake and eat it too? Let’s chat about it!
Have you considered an RV? That’s how we used to travel and took our dog when she was alive. If that’s too cumbersome, how about a small campervan? Then you have the ability to travel and have a place to sleep if you cannot get a petsit lined up that would allow your new dog to be there
I’m also pining to have my own dog but know it would change things.. my wife lets me do these sits because she knows we’d have a puppy Great Dane to live with us otherwise! ( I used to have two!)
I guess in the end it depends how important it is for you.. I worry I’m getting older so is it fair to get a pup now I’m 67 ! Would I get a rescue, having had quite a few problem pups to deal with on this site.
I love the company of dogs and could volunteer at an Animal Sanctuary but for me THS works well. I love the pets in my care and can trial caring for new breeds and enjoying new experiences. I also enjoy handing many of the pets back! I see them like grandchildren: great for a time but ultimately not my responsibility full time and I need my breaks!
It’s a big expense and responsibility especially now at my age as a pensioner. I’d hate to die before my pet did. I’ve even made provision in my will when I had a pet for him to be well cared for. My Dad lived to 99 and my Mum to 96 so maybe time is on my side lol.
I have a Campervan so it’s possible I could travel with my own pet.
There’s many a pet I would have happily taken home with me from the ones I’ve cared for so far..
I find it very tough when the beloved dog dies. Some people get the next dog while the last is still going, I’m sure that helps but still.. it’s the price of love I suppose.
Who knows what I’d do if I became a widower or divorced?
A van full of Great Danes is a recurring dream!
I’ve been in a similar situation, as someone who loves dogs and always thought I’d have one of my own. But I’ve realised that I love my freedom more. A dog is a huge committment - a lifestyle choice really - and one that could affect your lives for around 15 years.
It sounds as though at the moment you enjoy freedom to explore - working remotely, and a small apartment that is probably easy to ‘lock up and leave’ whilst you’re off on adventures. I would make the absolute most of your current situation, which puts you in a great position to apply for sits without being limited to those that you can travel to with a dog in tow, let alone those that will accept sitters with dogs.
I’ve come to the conclusion that, sometimes, less really is more, and I’m happy to keep my own lifestyle relatively simple and dip into other peoples’ dreams for my fix of thatched cottages and muddy paws.
I have a dog. It is a great responsibility, both with time and money, and will ofc have influence what time/money you have - or not - for other things. If i go away - petsitting or other - I need to have someone look after my dog. It is usually family or a kennel now - might be petsitters in the future. For a few petsits a year it isn’t any different than going away for work or holiday, lile most do.
I would say, however, that the work and time you put in with your pup the first year you get back tenfold during the whole life of the dog. So should one decide to get a puppy, prioritize being with and training your pup the first year. It really pays off. And most dog-related problems would often stem from not doing so.
My dog is a senior, and as it seems I will be petsitting going forward I don’t think I will have a new one. One could ofc get a similar experience petsitting on repeat sits, locally or other. Many hosts would prefer a repeat sit.
I’m enjoying not having a pet at the moment, instead enjoying the company of a variety of different characters, and even “test driving” some to see if their breed could become part of my life at a future date, either permanently or by fostering.
I absolutely love dogs, and THS has truly given me so much. Time and time again, I fall in love with the THS dogs as if they were my own. It makes me happy to know that when I leave, their owners will come back and love them just as much as I did while I was there. At the same time, I’m also happy knowing that once the sit is over, I’ll have more time with my husband again. We can go out, visit museums and theaters, go to the gym, go shopping… all without worrying about when we need to get back to take care of a dog. That kind of freedom is really valuable. But at the same time, dogs also make me incredibly happy.
We are also involved with street dogs in Bulgaria — we feed them, take them for walks, bring them to the vet, and help them however we can. But we’ve always been careful not to foster a dog there because it’s incredibly hard to find owners in Bulgaria. Dogs are often treated like they’re worthless, and that’s heartbreaking to see. Since we’re sometimes only there for a few months, I’m afraid that I’d be forced to put a dog back on the street when we leave — and I couldn’t live with that. If that happened, I would have no choice but to adopt the dog, and that would completely change our lifestyle. While we could still travel with a dog, THS would no longer be an option — and I really love THS because it allows us to meet new people and stay in real homes instead of Airbnbs and hotels.
The last time we were in Bulgaria, I fell in love with a street dog. I was actually ready to adopt him, but the laws in Bulgaria aren’t straightforward, and you can’t just take a dog with you. We left for a week and planned to come back for him, but we found out he had been hit by a car and didn’t survive. That still makes me cry when I think about it. That’s why I now prefer THS — because it doesn’t leave me feeling that kind of heartbreak. And I’m so grateful that when I say goodbye to the dogs I care for, I know their owners will come back and keep loving them.
Has anyone else faced a similar choice? Ideas I haven’t thought of? Success (or failure) stories of sitting with a pet? Gentle reminders that I can’t have my cake and eat it too? Let’s chat about it!