I’m currently on a sit right now. Amazing dogs and a cute guinea pig! Anyways both dogs have to be walked separately due to one being high energy and the other being a senior!
I get home with my senior friend as I’m opening the door the other dog darts out! (Door leads to their backyard) I thought she had to use it and I was taking too long for her walk. I pay her no mind leave her outside to tend to my senior friend make sure he gets hydrated. Y’all tell me why she brings me a whole baby bunny in her mouth (mind you their breed are retrievers). Bunny jumps out and into the pool, so here I go into a rescue mission. End up having to get in and just grab the thing! Part of my was scared because I didn’t know if it would bite me and rabies but I like to report this story ended with a happy ending.
Hi @Victory. I love your happy-ending story and can picture you jumping into the pool to save the poor bunny! Well done!
I haven’t experienced anything odd or funny on any of my sits, just lots of memorable cuddling, walks and plays with my new furry friends. I’m looking forward to hearing about others’ pet-sitting exploits.
It is a long read but us getting caught up in cyclone Gabrielle whilst sitting in New Zealand this February is a memory we will not be forgetting in a hurry!
@Victory we have also had a retriever / bunny incident on a sit, but in our case no water was involved (luckily as it was up a hill in Scotland in April!)
We had taken the 2 dogs for a walk in the hills. We were walking up a path through some moorland, when the Golden Retriever put his nose into a clump of heather and came out gently holding a bunny in his mouth. Fortunately he dropped it when we told him to and it was able to escape.
We were very glad that the Scottish Deerhound / greyhound cross did not notice the deer later in the walk!
Oh, and I did slip and fall crossing a tiny stream towards the end of the same walk, so there was a little bit of water involved. The kids certainly found that funny!
I have long hair that I pull back into a ponytail in a hair rubber band. I was washing my hair and had thrown the hair rubber band into my travel bag. I saw the inquisitive cat while I was showering across the room, he had jumped on to the shelf and reached into my travel bag and fished out the hair band with a claw.
So here’s a dripping wet me jumping out of the shower to chase the cat around to try and get the hair band as I was afraid he would swallow it.
So at one point there’s now me and the cat but no hair band. I didn’t see him swallow it and he was a little cat. I kept a close watch on the litter the next day to see if it emerged from the other end.
The next night he brings me the hair band. I gave him a treat and made sure to zip my travel bag after that.
I mentioned to the owner on her return, how clever he is to hook it out of my travel bag with a claw, even though he didn’t see me put it in there.
“Oh yes! He loves hair bands, he captures them and hides them in a secret place. When he wants to hunt them he will bring them for you to throw for him, he loves them.” Sheesh, and here was me imagining emergency vet appointments due to an internally lodged hair band and in reality it’s his normal favorite game that she missed to mention to me lol.
I had a sit with a golden retriever and on one walk around the farm, she disappeared off into a large nettle patch. I let her do her thing and kept walked around the edge of the field. A few minutes later, she came bolting across the field towards me and dropped a dead pheasant at my feet. She took a step back and looked at the pheasant and then at me seeking praise. She got plenty. No, I didn’t eat it but I gave it to a farm worker for them to have.
@Victory this is Phil the pheasant as we call him, he visits our garden in the Cotswolds in England and looks in the kitchen window at us, it’s his way of telling us he would like some crushed peanuts!
Wowww!!! I’m so glad you made it out okay and everyone safe. I honestly wouldn’t know how I would’ve reacted in a situation like that. That’s my biggest fear with international travel, how to handle the unexpected!
That’s definitely a memorable memory for sure. Would y’all travel back to New Zealand after experiencing that? @Colin
Love this so much @Victory
You seem to be a natural at this and I believe you are well on your way to some fascinating experiences with your sweet girl.
I had lots of unexpected but joyful moments on sits rescuing a variety of creatures from lizards, birds, frogs and mammals.
I have often felt like I slipped through the wardrobe into Narnia. The world is extraordinary and this life allows us to experience so many wonders.
When you gear yourself up to go the UK, and get the opportunity to get into the country you will become very familiar with pheasants. They are abundant and notorious for running across the road. The males are beautiful with vibrant plumage.
So excited and happy for you lady.
And well done
Someone got an unexpected bath after they surprised me off-leash at a community center park by running into the compost pile and gleefully rolling around in it. She smelled after that and was very proud of herself, LOL.
This poodle puppy seemed to especially relish rolling around in smelly things. Other pet owners warned me about fox scat, which apparently smells to high heaven. Luckily, we didn’t come across any of that, which I looked out for.
So adorable @Victory!! Thank God the retriever didn’t kill it, my lab would have brought me a dead animal expecting a big “Thank You Oh Mighty one!” Sadly she usually kills what she can catch & gratefully that is not much! The squirrels taunt her endlessly in the back yard! Great story BTW!! You totally went above & beyond - grateful bunny.
@Maggie8K Yes! A while ago I volunteered to walk a little black poodle for an old lady a few days a week. This little poodle would try and roll in everything she could find that had a smell. Or jump into any water too! I had to give her a bath on a few occasions before taking her back to her owner…
Little dog in Seattle–I sat for 3+ months during high pandemic. On public walks, she’d often lift both hind legs to pee. Like a mini acrobat. I think it was to appear “bigger” to other dogs. People would stop and laugh etc.
One of the cool things about sitting for me is learning about various breeds through greater exposure than you’d get otherwise, unless you normally worked with pets.
