Hi, I am Peter. A long time sitter with THS. Now locked down in Australia and taking the opportunity when we can do house sits in our lovely state of Western Australia and even in areas of Perth we have not been before. And of course there are the pets we miss!
11 Likes
Peter @prholst Hi and welcome, it’s wonderful to have you here in the Forum and in our TrustedHousesitters community.
You and Debs have been part of TrustedHousesitters for many years and it would be wonderful for you to share the stories from your pet and housesitting travels, including riding your bike from London to Paris last year to raise money for our charity partner https://www.raystede.org/ …
2 Likes
Hi - this is Brian in Eugene Oregon. Elizabeth and I have been members for several years and used THS as owners looking for sitters. At this point we’re about to complete our 10th trip with a THS sitter. As yet we have not used THS as sitters as our travel style usually involves a lot of moving about, and wanting flexibility during each day to explore the area without being tied down to taking care of pets.
Our experience as owners has been fabulous each and every time. We’ve met some wonderful people, some of whom we stay in touch with. Our sitters have come from all over the world, many of them digital nomads; working souls looking for a landing place while they work and play. Our Golden Retriever Lucy is a sweetheart and everyone loves being with her and she has great reviews which has made it easy to get sitters.
Our last trip was 5 weeks in Southeast Asia in January and February of this year - right as Covid was hitting. When we arrived in Singapore and Vietnam the first cases were arriving along with us. The Vietnamese basically kicked out all the Chinese Nationals, and even had signs at restaurants saying they would not serve any Chinese. Bizarre. Fortunately for us, this meant that our trip through those two countries and Cambodia was enhanced by having no crowds in the tourist areas. In fact hardly any people at all. This meant we had places like Angor Wat to ourselves. Very unusual. Anyway we were very careful and had a great trip - although Covid was in the back of our minds the entire time. I got what I think was a cold in Singapore which was very scary at first.
We are about to go on our next trip - a short one - 6 days - and have a THS sitter lined up. We received 10 apps within a few hours, so as Angela mentioned, the inventory is pretty low.
As others have mentioned, we are using our truck camper for travels within the States. The only real exposure is when we need a public bathroom. And we often take our dog on these trips so we don’t need sitters as much as we usually do. We had a trip to Morocco canceled in May, and a planned trip to Spain in September we abandoned. Having a number of COVID risks, we likely will not get on an airplane until an effective vaccine has had widespread use, and airlines get a handle on how to do this effectively - possibly with mandatory quick tests before boarding. I’m thinking next fall.
We love THS, and are looking forward to many years of participation. And thanks to Angela for being such a wonderful part of our THS experience.
5 Likes
Welcome to our community Forum Brian, thank you for being part of our testing team and for bringing a much valued owner’s perspective on housesitting.
Oregon is such a beautiful part of the world I’m not surprised you had many applications, even factoring in the COVID effect, as owners we don’t view our home and location the way sitters do, what’s familiar to us is a whole new adventure for sitters.
Thank you for being part of the conversation and we so looking forward to your contribution,
Hi Brian!
I may be looking to do house sits in Oregon next summer. Let me know if you need me and if you would be OK with my 14 year old Jack Russell Terrier. She loves other dogs!
1 Like
@Provence, about half of the owners will accept my dog, the rest usually decline because they either don’t want someone bringing a pet or their own pets might not be ok with another dog in the household. But the ones that have accepted me have been a great experience! I watch dogs, cats, fish and can also take care of birds and some farm animals like chickens.
1 Like
Thanks to this website I’d had some pretty amazing sits and have repeat customers. I would love to share stories.
2 Likes
Hi Puglieseme, love that rustica Italian bread! Yes if we’re traveling at that point we will be looking for someone. Why don’t you contact me in May or so after we’ve firmed up our plans?
B
3 Likes
Hello THS Forum. Hubbie & I are new to the Forum but not THS. Our experiences have been very positive, for the most part. There are always a few stumbles here and there, but nothing that cannot be over-come.
2 Likes
Hi @Hi.Its.Me welcome to our community forum, thank you for your great introduction.
Enjoy the conversations, connecting with other members and we look forward to sharing in your TrustedHousesitters story … so far.
Angela and the Team
1 Like
Hello everyone! (from Brazil!)
I’m new here, so far I don’t have any experience to share, but I’m looking forward to it!
Big hug!.
Pamela Guedes.
2 Likes
Good afternoon everyone,
I’m just starting out and hoping for the best.
Sarah
2 Likes
Hi @Pam_Guedes & @sarah321 welcome to our community forum, it’s great to have you here and we look forward to getting to know you better and sharing in your TrustedHousesitters journey.
Enjoy connecting with our members from all around the world.
Angela and the Team