Hola Everyone!
My name is Rachel, but everyone calls me Rita. My husband Pol and I are very excited to join TrustedHousesitters. I’m sure our friends and family are happy too so we stop asking them to care for our cat when we travel. Hehe 
We have a lovely 10-year-old cat named Arigato, but we just call him Gato (Spanish for cat).
I’m originally from the United States, but have been living in Barcelona, Spain for almost 10 years. I fell in love with the city and also my husband, Pol. He’s from Barcelona.
I’d love to know what has been your most unexpected surprise with using TrustedHousesitters. Have any of you created life long friendships or discovered something you never thought you would have?
My husband and I are soon off to the Canary Islands. Where’s your next trip?
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Hi Rachel, and welcome. You ask some great questions. I’m going on a year as a sitter with THS after living petless on a sailboat for eight years. I have been surprised at how much I enjoy caring for everyone’s pets and learning about their unique, interesting personalities. I didn’t know that I was missing pets so much while we were on the boat. I also discovered that I love active working dogs and enjoy tromping around through the mud with them while they are running at top speed or swimming.
My husband and I are currently caring for two cats on a sit in Belgium. It’s a great life.
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Im going to Porthcawl in south Wales to look after two cats. My dog, who is coming with me, is yet to be informed he has to share his mummee with two cats!
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Welcome @r.wachtler. My next trip is the same as yours, I am off to the Canary Islands in August for a repeat sit with my fave little feathered buddy, Paco the cockatoo in Tenerife!
Thanks to my first sit with Paco, I discovered that I really love Spain and the Spanish language! I have always admired people who spoke multiple languages but for whatever reason, never thought I would be able to do it myself. Thanks to TH and that first random sit with Paco and signing up for a few classes on a whim, I discovered that I can in fact learn a new language and have found a lot of joy and confidence in the process. I’m now heading back to Spain, and Spanish language school, for the third time.
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A deep long lasting friendship with the very first owners Cesc and I accepted to sit for in Barcelona in JUly 2018 was definitely a very pleasant highly unexpected surprize. Such wonderful warm people, very generous and welcoming made the THS an outstanding platform of posiblities for us way beyound just that of pet and house sitting which we also value and plan to be part of for many years. It also be what we make it Rachel and Pol Enjoy 
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Hola @r.wachtler what a a handsome gato Arigato is! I have been mostly full time since 2018, have had several sits in Barcelona most recently in El Vendrell a little ways down the road. I can tell hands down this is the best life I have ever lived and it is getting better and better. Not only have I had wonderful experiences with animals, some species and breeds I never have cared for before have absolutely delighted me, but the people! The places yes of course but the people for me have been extraordinary.
I have now long standing relationships with people I met sitting form many different countries, Spain, UK, US, Bali pop in. Some I visit and sit for on the regular and some we just communicate via email etc. It is just wonderful and has led me to a great deal of discovery, on a personal level and on a more global level as knowing them has expanded my view of the world and what is possible. I never stop learning and things I never dreamed possible I have discovered are very possible.
Welcome and enjoy!
Oh I am in the UK currently, have a US passport but haven’t been there since March. Spent a month in Portugal, UK, Spain…Going back to US for 2 months on a sit with long time HO friends and then South America, also with them 
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Welcome @r.wachtler, to the forum and to TrustedHousesitters. You are going to love it…and your family will too! LOL
I notice you have not linked your profile to your forum account. By doing so, this will give you so much insight into what is going on globally, as well as give you exposure to more members in a quicker fashion when they see your profile. You might find a sitter immediately after they see that cute furbaby of yours!
To link your profile, please follow below:
How to add a listing or profile link to your FORUM profile
Once again, welcome. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of us to help. We look forward to seeing some of your travels posted here!
Debbie and the Forum Team
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Awww Arigato is absolutely adorable! Thank you for sharing his photo and welcome to the TrustedHouseSitters community forum. We look forward to hearing about your trip to the Canary Islands! 
