Sitters "buddying" up to sit together

Hi Everyone!

It dawned on me recently how it would be great to pair up with a few people to do pet sits with.

Here’s a few reasons why I think it would be good:

  • Share responsibilities
  • Backup (dog walking with a migraine ain’t fun!)
  • Have a friendly face around!

I’ve done a few pet sits where there has been more than one bedroom and it would have been swell if another pet sitter had joined. I’ve often found that house owners (especially those with dogs) would have preferred to have had two people pet sit.

I thought those interested in teaming/pairing up could write a bit about themselves below – in the same way that meet ups are organised on the forum . People could then DM those they might work well with, to arrange to see if there is compatibility. So might I suggest:

Write a bit about yourself below if you are interested in teaming up with fellow pet sitters.

Any additional suggestions, comments or ideas welcome!

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Hi @Jamese You may want to read a post with a similar suggestion to yours. It includes the considerations and drawbacks. Multiple sitters at a time

It’s always a good idea to use the magnifying glass to search keys words to see if there is already a post on a topic.

Members - just a reminder not to add any personal contact information in your responses. That is best done by direct messaging.

Francine
Volunteer moderator :canada:

Hi Francine

Agree, important to note the pros and cons. I thought the current topic might be useful as a place just for finding others who might want to pair up to do pet sits together. I hope it will be a useful addition!

Thanks,

James

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Hi All! I’m a 35 year old male and have been pet sitting since May 2022. It would be great to find some other people to potentially pet sit with.

I’m currently working as an online tutor and setting up a community social startup. It’s been working very well, with cats and dogs making excellent screen breaks! I used to work as a videographer, before I went back to study philosophy and psychology. I enjoy learning about people and thinking about new ideas and perspectives. I’m friendly, considerate and respectful. I seldom drink, don’t smoke and enjoy cycling and staying active.

I’m open to any type of pet sit in the UK, with a preference for longer sits (2 weeks +); and am open to sitting most animals. I imagine sharing some of the bigger pet sits (big properties with many animals) would work particularly well.

It would be great to find a few other pet sitters who would be open to pairing up at times. I think it would well with people who mostly work from home, and who are up for sharing the odd conversation, meal, movie and of course dog walk. But I’m open minded!

If you thought we might get along, please just DM or message below. We could then arrange a video chat, meet in person and then hopefully hatch a plan :slight_smile: .

P.S., you can find my TrustedHousesitters public profile on my forum profile.

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I agree.
I would want to know that the person/people I am teaming up with would share the required responsibilities and not leave me in the dark.

Hi @Angela_L

Thank you for the welcome!

I had seen this (now merged with) thread but it seemed different in intent and purpose to the one I created. This thread seems to be on a discussion about House Owner’s using multiple sitters. The purpose of the thread I created was to aid pet sitters find other pet sitters to team up with. This seems a different - albeit related - discussion?

J

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Hi @Jamese sitters did develop this conversation into one about sitters paring up, just as you are suggesting and began to discuss the pros and cons of which there are many, being in the owner/sitter category is also appropriate as ultimately it would be the owner’s choice to accept different sitter applicants, albeit ones who arrived together …

I agree that there is a difference between the two threads and having them separate may be more helpful for finding sitters to buddy up with. I have also thought to make a similar topic thread/post in the past, after doing a search on the forum and not really finding what I was looking for. This thread above seems to just be talking about the pros and cons of the idea, but not so helpful to find the people who are looking to buddy up and find others compatible with them. Perhaps there are too few of us for this to potentially work? I´ve posted about it in other groups and had some response, but not a great deal (as you know).

It´s good to know that some HOs have also thought about the idea though :slight_smile:

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I really like the idea of buddying up on a sit. It extends the range of sits possible and it would be great to have some company, and share the responsibility. I agree that buddying up could be a separate thread. So that it’s easy to find like minded people. Just as it is with meetups.
I’d want to meet in person before considering a buddy up though.

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Maybe even an entirely separate category, not just a thread.
E.g. Then topics can be buddying up in different countries - to keep topics ‘on topic’

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By request :wink: we have moved @Jamese conversation to it’s own topic …

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I´m super interested in exploring joint house sitting with other sitters who may potentially be compatible with me. If you´re the kind of person who likes a clean, tidy, clutter free and well maintained house/space, has no problem cleaning and tidying up after yourself and don´t consider these things as big chores you prefer to avoid, then we might get along well :smiley:

Feel free to message me if this sounds attractive to you and you´d like to check out my THS profile. I know that for some people it sounds horrific, while for others it sounds heavenly xD
Also feel free to share your profile with me if you´d like me to take a look.

I usually do not have work commitments when undertaking pet sits and quite like to spend a good amount of my time hanging with/around the animals, and exploring/engaging in a variety of indoor activities. Every now and then I like going out to explore the local area and seeing what it has to offer. Love a nice, long, adventurous walk/hike both with and without four legged companions (and with two legged ones too of course). Though walking with a dog often makes things a whole lot more fun! I tend to prefer the following day to be a lot more chilled out and relaxed xD

I can be fairly social and enjoy sharing time, energy and moments with others, but also very much enjoy and appreciate having some quiet time to myself. I like to keep a plant based food diet and enjoy sharing meals and baked treats every now and then.

I´d probably want to try a shorter sit at first to see how things work out (up to a week?), but will likely be open to doing the much longer sits if I think it went well.

Open to both the UK and abroad and would be interested to do joint sits in any of the the much bigger properties, as well as the more rural locations.

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I think an excellent idea. Like a house with several animals. One person digital nomad, and the other one with more free time. Can share during the day requirements and nightly everybody walks or time together.
I am all for it. Let’s meet and we can try. What about Asia for a long period 2023. Anybody interested.

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Just interested in who would receive the review and be ultimately responsible should there be any problems.

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You sound and look like you are an amazing human being @Jamese with a wonderful outlook.
I love the UK and currently just moving away to new adventures but you appear to be a good match for someone to sit with where two would do better than one.
I just wanted to say that I wish you all the best in your onward journey.

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I would consider this as something to be discussed on a case by case basis. Not all the sits I undertake are through THS and give me reviews on the site. So I wouldn´t feel like I´d be losing out by not getting the odd review through a joint sit. Once you find a suitable companion sitter, you could always just apply through alternative accounts each time and therefore each get a review for every other joint sit. Or any other arrangment. Whatever you consider to work for you really.

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These are fair and valid points. Thanks for the contribution. If you´re not open to it, that´s up to you. But others are open to it, which is great to know.

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Looks like an amazing sit opportunity :heart_eyes: and it´s so good to hear that you take great care to prepare for the arrival of your sitters. I´m sure it´s always appreciated! I´d certainly appreciate it if I were sitting for you :slight_smile:

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I think we can just review those we think could be suitable as best we can before any final agreements and then hope for the best. Taking on a shorter joint sit to begin with seems like it would probably be a good way to find out if you´re compatible or not for anything longer. But even for a slightly longer sit, I think you could just think of it like looking for a new housemate in a shared living situation, but without the commitment of something long term it feels somewhat less daunting in my opinion.

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I am interested in this too. Not sure how to actually get in contact with other sitters though and how to find compatible people. I guess we’d have to meet up or do a video call. It could be really wonderful I think, if the right people get together.

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