Like everyone in our global community, Madolline is a hugely valued member and has been since 2017 and we feel it’s important to give additional background to Madolline’s story and international travel.
Madolline has travelled the world keeping many beloved cats happy at home and giving pet parents absolute peace of mind when travelling. A travel writer with published articles she has written about her travels and love of pet sitting for our blog and has been interviewed by media in her native Australia, the US & the UK
On a recent sit this April in Oregon, USA, pet parents of kitties Friddo & Pippa said “Invite Madolline to stay with your cats ASAP!! Madolline was an exceptional house and cat sitter. We could not have felt more at ease being so far away from our cat companions for 2.5 weeks.” She admits to having lost count of how many cats she has cared for…
“50 I think, TrustedHousesitters means I get to see new cities and towns with a cat friend by my side”
On this trip to the US, Madolline was in transit from Brisbane Australia, through Los Angeles to Montreal Canada and from what we know the initial issue for being detained was the lack of an onward flight boarding pass. This led to the official opening up of detailed questioning. Words cannot describe how appalled we are at this leading to her being challenged about abortion and her pregnancy history.
We have been in touch with Madolline ever since this incident happened, but the Information on abortion is new and has only come to our attention as a result of this article. It is really disturbing and we are waiting to speak to her on this latest development, and we will of course offer our full support, as we do to all of our members.
Over 12 years, thousands of international pet sits have successfully taken place, members of our TrustedHousesitters team frequently sit internationally as well. The founders built this global business pet sitting across America, Europe and Australia and have been interviewed about our unique business across countries and many media outlets.
Prior to any international sit members are sent information on how to prepare as it is vital to have all travel documents, paperwork and official requirements organised, up to date and at hand. In some cases, house sitting can be misinterpreted as work by border control officials, however there is very little consistency across countries and borders.
What happened to Madolline is extremely unfortunate and we are so sorry for her and the situation she found herself in. To be detained and grilled about pregnancy and abortion, especially in light of recent developments on abortion in the USA, is unconscionable and we hope that this experience will not stop her from doing what she loves, traveling and spending time with cats, housesitting.