Hi everyone! My husband and I have been on Trusted Housesitters for about 4 years. I sometimes find it difficult and stressful to find likeminded sitters, who won’t bring any animal products into our home. So far, we’ve been mostly lucky. Currently, we are looking for a sitter with no applications yet. My idea is to create a vegan or like-minded group of people of sitters and homeowners who could connect with and support each other on this platform. Any inputs, further ideas, or recommendations would be very welcome.
Are you very strict about not bringing animal products into the house, such as no butter/milk/cheese? Silly question maybe but just wondering. I’ve only ever seen a listing where prospective sitters were asked not to bring meat into their home, which I could comply with as am pescatarian
@Linda63 It’s great that you have been able to find vegan sitters in the past .
Starting this thread is a good idea . I hope you will find and connect with like minded members as it’s not possible for sitter’s to filter their search for vegan only sits .
As @Smiley says there are also sitters who are not vegan but are willing not to bring meat into the home for the duration sit . Are your pets also on a vegan diet ? Does your criteria for no animal product include a sitter’s clothing wool, leather etc . If you can provide as much details as you can it will help you find a sitter who is a good match .
I think you need to be more specific about your requirements. Your listing says “would love to find a pet sitter who is respectful of our vegan lifestyle and won’t bring any animal product to our house.” To me that says absolutely nothing from animals, not just food. No leather shoes/purses, no wool, or anything other products that might contain something animal based.
I’m a vegetarian and would have no problem being vegan for a sit. But I would need more information. I’m fine with not bringing meat into the house and I could get by without cheese or yogurt for awhile, but I don’t want to have to start looking at all my stuff to see if there is anything derived from animals.
I don’t think it would be a problem at all to find sitters who are perfectly fine with not bringing meat into the house the duration of the sit, but it’s unclear what exactly you expect.
I have seen several vegan hosts. Some ask me to take all meat with me when I leave, some ask me not to cook any meat (but storing bread toppings in the fridge is fine). Then there are the nut allergies, and celiac decease, where food restrictions also apply. It has never stopped me from applying to a sit. However, the requirement should be very clear. My travel garderobe is build around wool to make it minimal yet warm, so if that is an issue, I am no fit. I just need to know.
While I understand that animals need meat and if your veganism is rooted in love of animals, there is not really a conflict between you not eating meat but still preparing it, but I do find it odd when some vegans have meat for animals in their homes, yet humans are not allowed to bring any. Is someone with fructose intolerance (any fructose is harmful to them, so no vegetables, no fruits, etc) allowed to bring meat as it is pretty much impossible to survive without meat when having that condition? All in all it sounds like breaching when it is too strict, and that has me rejecting the sit, not the requirement itself.
Hi @Linda63
I’m a meat eater normally but have sat for a lady that specified no meat products to be brought into her kitchen. I was totally happy to comply with her wishes and live meat free for the week of the sit.
Maybe you can outline exactly what food items are a no no for you in your listing? Sitters can then decide if they are happy to do your sit on this basis.
Thank you so much for your detailed response! Good points! We don’t mind someone wearing wool or even leather in our house. It might sound silly for you, that we prepare meat-based food for our dogs, but require sitters to only use vegan products for consumption. Our galgos used to be on a vegan diet as well. It had worked for our border terrier, who passed away at age 18, and for our Belgian Malinois, who lived to be 14. Unfortunately, one of our galgos developed dilated cardiomyopathy, which can be genetic, but also triggered by certain diets. We switched him and then the others to non-vegan food, because their health was more important to us than our ethical standards. I still find it disgusting to prepare the food, but there are things you do for love. Our dogs’ meals are prepared in a different area and never stored in our fridge. I hope that helps to clarify.
Regarding fructose allergies in humans, who have to eat meat as their main food source - I’d understand but also say that we are simply not compatible.
Thank you so much for your detailed response! You are completely right, and we should be more specific. We don’t require that sitters check their clothing or accessories for non-vegan materials. We don’t wear leather or new wool clothing ourselves, but we don’t require that of our sitters. This would go too far. We just don’t want any kind of animal products like meat, fish, eggs, dairy for consumption in our home, including takeout. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for your question! Yes, no eggs, dairy or other animal products for consumption in our house, please. We don’t use leather or new wool ourselves, but that’s not a requirement for sitters.
Good questions! Thanks so much! We ourselves don’t wear leather or wool, but we don’t require that of our sitters. We used to be open to having non-vegan sitters who promised not to bring any animal products into our home. We felt very violated when we found out that they had used meat and more during their sit. We are a little bit torn now, since our trust was betrayed. We would try again with the right sitters, though. Our dogs are not vegan, but we keep their food separate from ours. Again, thank you for asking about more details!
Thanks so much for your response! We always ask our sitters not to bring any animal products for consumption into our home. This means no dairy, eggs, meat, fish. I hope that helps.
I peeked at your listing and your home and dogs are lovely! I am a fellow therapy dog handler with my Golden.
I would just clarify that sitters can bring wool, leather, etc. Otherwise I think the difficulty is just fewer international travelers wanting to go the US so there are fewer sitters applying.
Can you offer a car or reimburse a rental? That may help with applicants…
I dont think it is. I have met vegans who dont mind meat when it is not harming animals. Or who dont mind that kind of meat prepared around them. The point is that it is a very nuanced thing, so less vague = more satisfaction.
Very few members read the forum so I don’t think trying to get together a “vegan” group is going to be that helpful in filling sits, but I do think there are lot of sitters who’d be more than willing to follow vegan only cooking and consumption in your home if this was clearly stated in your listing and discussed in the chat.
I travel a lot and it’s taken me a while, but I am now at the point where at least half the time I can find a previous sitter to invite and I don’t have to post a listing, that might happen over time with you as well.
As you should. If someone agrees to not bring meat into the house, they need to stick to that. As a vegetarian, I would be very upset if someone cooked meat in my pans.
Just be specific in your listing that you are referring to food items (no meat, dairy, eggs) and not clothing, etc. I think you will find sitters willing to meet this requirement.
Hi Linda, I am a vegan sitter, and have another friend who is as well. I’ve seen your posting and likely want to sit for you at some point, but so far the dates haven’t worked out.
I agree that it would be nice to find a group of like-minded people for sitting. To me, being vegan means caring about all animals, both human and non-human.
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