This time of year in the U.S. often inspires a moment of reflection and gratitude, even as our recent blog on the Thanksgiving Stress Index shows how busy and stressful the season can be!
It’s made me think about all the wonderful places pet sitting has helped people experience.
Whether you’re a pet owner who has welcomed sitters into your home or a sitter who has travelled to care for pets, we’d love to hear from you!
Which U.S. destination are you grateful to have discovered, or helped someone else discover, through pet sitting?
Your stories, from every corner of our global community, are always welcome.
We’ve been incredibly lucky to have criss-crossed the U.S. as pet sitters twice — first for three months in 2013, and then again a decade later. Both trips gave us the chance to see parts of the country we never would have explored on a regular holiday.
What stays with us most isn’t just the places (though waking up in New England light, watching desert sunsets in Arizona, and walking leafy neighbourhoods in the Pacific Northwest still feels pretty surreal). It’s how pet sitting opened doors we never would have found on our own — an amazing young singer-songwriter in Tennessee who invited us to a writers’ night at the Bluebird Café, the little cafés locals rely on in Lexington, Virginia where we had our first pumpkin spice latte, the dog-friendly trails woven through Boston’s neighbourhoods, and the unexpected charms of small-town America.
Those sits became meaningful chapters in our travels, shaped by the trust of the pet owners who welcomed us in and the gentle routines of the pets who made each house feel familiar. The gratitude we feel for those experiences — the people, the pets, the unexpected beauty — has stayed with us ever since.
Of recent sits, I got to spend time exploring Boston and Philadelphia more, especially their arts and history. That’s what drew me to those locations. Though I’d previously visited both multiple times, sitting gave me the opportunity to live like a local.
The states that Boston and Philly are in (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, respectively) are key ones in U.S. history and both have great museums. Food is good in both as well.
My hosts for both sits were terrific — trusting, strong communicators, hospitable. They also said I’d be welcomed back. Their pets — cats in both cases — were very lovable and easy to care for.
Separately, I did a recent sit in San Antonio, Texas, a city I’ve enjoyed over decades. It’s developed a lot since and living like a local let me explore neighborhoods much more.
After my sit, I rented a car and drove across parts of the state, including visiting museums and an archaeological site involving wooly mammoths and a distiller of whiskey that I’ve enjoyed over years.
I love that part of the country for barbecue as well. There are generations-old barbecue joints run by German immigrant families who originally started raising cattle in Texas and found that smoking meats to preserve them out of necessity (before refrigeration) actually turned out to be a good business. When I started going decades ago, I remember sitting alongside locals, as well as tourists from as far as Japan and Germany, who’d make the trek (the small towns require driving to, out of the way).
I ended up in Dallas and not only saw terrific art, but caught up with a good friend as well.
And my sit hosts were great and said they’d welcome me back. I’d be happy to sit for their sweet, sweet cats again.
In the Pacific Northwest, I revisited Bainbridge Island and Seattle for sits at separate times.
On Bainbridge, I did a waterfront sit for two quirky and fun cats. My hosts were very welcoming and even kindly arranged a private tour of a historical site for me. I also met up for lunch with a THS exec who’s been with the site from the start. It was the second time we’d met up, previously in the U.K.
In Seattle, I sat a grumpy dog whom I fell for and vice versa. That sit and its gracious hosts allowed me to live in a home just doors down from where my husband and I bought our first home decades ago. We’d always admired their home from the outside and it turned out to be even lovelier than I’d imagined.
The neighborhood has always been one of the best in the city and I enjoyed seeing how it had changed over decades. Even though I’ve been back to Seattle many times since, I enjoyed reacquainting myself with the neighborhood, especially on walks with my sit dog. We also explored various other neighborhoods and parks, because I had wheels.
The hosts have invited me back repeatedly, though I unfortunately had conflicts. Hope our timing eventually works out.
Food in the Seattle area is exceptional and I even got to visit a Chinese supermarket chain’s first U.S. location. The chain originated in Canada and is immensely popular for its tremendous selections. It’s the kind of supermarket that has such a huge following and reputation that people lined up for hours when it opened. I drove my sit dog with me and he loved sniffing the neighborhood.
One of the sits I did this past year was a terrific one in San Francisco, with three indoor / outdoor cats. We fell so hard for one another that their humans invited me back a month later and offered me roundtrip airfare.
I took them up on it, because I adore their quirky cats, love their home and neighborhood, and I used to live in the Bay Area and have plenty of friends there. One of them lives about 10 minutes away, with a bunch of pets. She joined THS after hearing about my sit experiences.
San Francisco is one of the U.S. best cities for natural beauty, food and much more. I always enjoy visiting.
The sweetest thing with this sit was, the cats remembered me and we got on swimmingly. The hosts asked me back, because the cats are picky about people and they worry that they won’t return indoors at night if they dislike their sitter. The hosts said it was a relief to have peace of mind with the right sitter. And they were generous in all ways with me.
One of the sits I did that was bittersweet: My elderly and sickly sit dog ended up having to be put to sleep. But it was during that visit to the West Coast that I decided to move back. My husband trusts me to pick homes for us and during that visit I made an offer on a home that we’ve since purchased.
We’ve now had the house remodeled and will celebrate our first holidays in it, settled in.
We love our house, our neighborhood, its lushness, the small lake and wildlife, its proximity to some of the most gorgeous natural beauty in our region. Our neighbors have been friendly and mutually helpful as well.
We feel very lucky, especially because our house is unusual — a one story on a double lot, so we can age in place. Our remodel involved adding a mother-in-law unit, so we can use it for guests and potentially a caretaker when we’re older.
We’re thrilled with how things have unfolded living wise and are grateful that a THS sit helped us decide to move back.
Sounds familiar… I have been traveling up and down the west coast using THS as a soft landing for a year now, looking for where we are going to buy our retirement home. Well… thanks to the 7 weeks long sits, I’ve discovered we’re already in the perfect spot! Turns out, there’s no place like home! But it’s been a blast finding so many lovely and exotic locales and people and pets along the way. Now I’m looking forward to staying put till the June Hawaii sit… we will start looking forward our forever home in the meanwhile. Life is good!
Austin and Boston. I wanted to visit both places for ages but could never make it work. There was always some other place that interfered with my travel ‘wants.’ But, once I confirmed the sits, I had to go. And I did. If not for THS I might have still wanted to visit Austin and Boston.
For me, it hasn’t been a single destination, but rather a geographic/natural type of destination. I really have enjoyed sits at non-urban coastal locations - the first US was Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington state. Since then, I’ve been looking for those and have had the good fortune to sit on Whidbey Island, WA (x2), tidal rivers as they flow into the Atlantic in North Carolina and Virginia, and both Canada coasts - Vancouver Island and Nova Scotia near the water. Will be on another NC coastal sit in Dec and another WA state in Jan/Feb.
My first island sit was on Jeju in South Korea. The sit was in the center of the island but it was easy to get to the coast. I just wish that those 3 schools wouldn’t all schedule breaks at the same time so I could build a string of Jeju sits.
I wasn’t so much interested in the city or area (Baltimore) but , rather, in a draft horse rescue nearby that I support.
Wanting to visit the rescue and meet its many, many hunky (and not so hunky) denizens made Baltimore (about 1h drive from the rescue) a great jumping off place.
Oooooh, those drafts were the BEST !!! (Horses, not ales)
We were blessed to spend 4-5 months housesitting in western US in winter 2023/4. We met mostly wonderful people, cared for mostly super pets, and spent time living in places that were mostly exceptionally enjoyable.
Feature US destinations for us were Smith State Rock Park, the greater San Francisco area, and Santa Barbara winter sunshine. Some really precious memories.
Perhaps an unexpected learning for us on that US adventure was that every single housesit with a dog used a choke collar with inward metal spikes. There seemed multiple pet parent motivations and rationales. Small sample so not representative. Never seen such collars in Canada, UK or elsewhere.
I set off for a fall binge of petsitting throughout N.C., Virginia and Maryland and it was wonderful! I discovered 2 places which were amazing that I would’ve never known about. Southern Shores, NC was my most favorite place with expansive ocean views and a kitty that walked with me every day to the beach. I had a few nights “in between sits” available and discovered Chincoteague Island, Va. which was incredible! I was so mesmerized by it’s beauty, and it is a one of a kind treasure. Another discovery was Shady Side, Md. The views of Chesapeake Bay from all the windows of the home were amazing, though I wouldn’t plan to return as it was rather isolated. Western North Carolina in the fall couldn’t be prettier! Asheville, Black Mountain and Hendersonville were wonderful. I’m hoping to add international sits on my schedule in the coming year. Happy Holidays and New Year’s travels to everyone!!
Last winter, as I stayed south, I was in Austin, then Gulfport, MS, as I headed to Florida. Stopped in New Orleans. Had been in New Orleans before, but just nice to spend the day. And I was surprised at how nice Gulfport was. Had my fish tacos down by the shore. Just a place I wouldn’t have stopped at and Austin. Just a nice road trip spending winter out of the north. I also went up to Pismo Beach for a short sit last spring. Heading up there again, not a sit, after New Years to go up to Morrow Bay to see the sea otters. Wouldn’t have done that without the sit earlier. And in the fall, at peak time for the colors, I went to the Thousand Islands area. Hit a fall festival. It was so beautiful looking at the fall colors on the islands as I walked the dogs along the river. Unexpected pleasures.
