@Debbie Sam, my IW companion for about 8 years was a delight. He was a big IW, I think - about 170-180, but very gentle and especially with small kids or older folks was aware of his size and would stand stock-still when around them.
He actually made a x-country move with me when I went back to grad school on the west coast. He fit across the back seat of my Toyota. Before I adopted him from the Minneapolis Humane Society we made sure he could fit into my car.
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I am on a short sit in Shell Beach, up the coast from Santa Barbara in CA. Need a few chill days walking the dog on the beach after the month I had.
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Rats, rats and more rats! I started a lovely sit yesterday with two sweet dogs in a charming cottage in a beautiful rustic location. This morning, I am watching rats run all over the patio as birds drop seed from the feeders. A couple of blue jays chased a rat from the feeder, but the rat came back with reinforcements! This could be a downside of being an early riser. The trade-off is watching and listening to the beautiful variety of birds the feeders attract.
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Not sure how I feel about rats @mdarden1x but it does sound like a really entertaining sight to behold!
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It was entertaining, but the rats gave me the heebie jeebies, and I wouldn’t miss them if they don’t return (but they will).
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Early rat catches the seed??? 
while the bird looks for worms 
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Please mention rats in your review because I never want to sit there 
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I already posted I am on the coast, north of Santa Barbara in California. I am so enjoying the walks along the ocean with the dog. Despite the HO saying this 12 yo golden can walk 6 miles, it balks after a mile. Going for a 3 mile walk is very difficult. So we sit on a bench and look at the ocean and see the ocean birds, look for sea otters and hope for a wayward whale that shows itself. But I so chilling with the vibe. I so needed this sit.
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HI, I am Irene, new to THS and this forum, but not completely new to Pet Sitting. I recently joined the site but have been co-sitting with my friend Marion, on 5 previous sits.
So, I am here with her on one of the Scottish islands with a gorgeous dog, and beautiful scenery.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to comply with the Terms of Service).
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Welcome to the Forum @ILoveDoggyCuddles 
thank you for sharing this lovely photo! Feel free to pop over to this discussion and tell us a little more about yourself, and how your sitting journey is going so far!
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What’s this, a Starfish? Nope. Just me on the last full day of my sit on Isle of Easdale, swimming in a disused/flooded Slate Quarry, with a Collie, as you do.
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Ha ha! Love the photo of your lads keeping their lunch under wraps! The dog I’m looking after here is a Jekyll and Hide. Can be so calm and relaxed when there’s no food around and looks positively angelic.. but then comes lunchtime!
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He is very full on guard dog at night. He lets me know of any activity around the bungalow in this quiet retirement village! The neighbours are on holiday which is a relief as I get woken even if my hearing aids aren’t in! He catches up with his sleep during the day!
He’s very social and loves his walks so that’s a big plus as I do too!
His owner has flown to the States for a knee operation and is doing well. This is her second knee to be operated on. Several people here in the community have had knee and hip ops. Some are still active walkers and gardeners. Most are cheerful and good company. I’m here 51 days so the owner can recuperate and have the necessary physio work before flying back to UK.
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About a week left on a 2 week sit in Gulfport, Mississippi with –
Mikka, a 12 year old rat terrier, about 24 lbs. Although short, she has no trouble jumping up to spend the night on the bed with me - she knows to stay on her side and doesn’t move around at all once she is asleep.
Moana is a 9 yo beagle, about 33 lbs. She is content to spend the nights on the tv room couch.
They are really a bonded pair - and not walkers but have a dog door and a great back yard.
Gulfport is one of a string of towns/cities on the Mississippi gulf coast about 70 miles east of New Orleans.
Waveland, westernmost of the towns was ground zero for hurricane Katrina’s landfall although much of the coast received the winds and waters. (New Orleans really missed the brunt of Katrina and damage there was really caused because the levees and floodwalls broke - a human-made fate.) Friday, Aug 29 will be the 20th anniversary of Katrina’s 2nd landfall.
Some interesting museums -
Waveland has the ground-zero Katrina museum - in 1920s school building that was one of the few still standing after the storm. And a great bakery that shares the building and a replica of the original tin ceiling in the school auditorium.
Biloxi has the Ohr-Okeefe Museum in a Frank Gehry designed group of buildings. A lot of pottery made by turn-of-the-19th century potter George Ohr, thought to be a bit of a madman during his life. He would turn his pots on a wheel and then shape them by hand.
Ocean Springs toward the eastern end has the Charnley-Norwood house, designed by Louis Sullivan and his apprentice Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was ripped apart by Katrina but has been restored to original plans. Pictures show one wall that was blown away (mostly intact) and how it has been restored to the house.
OS also has the Walter Anderson Art Museum. Anderson was also a ceramacist/potter, but also a furniture builder and painter-many murals.
Interior mural in the 1948 OS community center - 3 colonial columns on a concrete clock building. Mural on all walls of the 1 big room and tells the history - animals to indigenous people to French colonists… Going Inside: Ocean Springs Community Center – Preservation in Mississippi!!!
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I’m on one of my longest sits here (51 days) but with these Longer sits I can try some training and I can see real progress with this guy who barks when it isn’t Required! (Like when he is sent out in the night for a pee.) There are elderly neighbours here so maybe they can’t hear but it’s still annoying.. I walk him late last thing and tire him out in the day and he’s been sleeping through! Yay! Progress! If it’s raining he prefers not to go out! He’s a clever lad who knows all about manipulation! I reward good behaviour with treats and it’s working a treat!
This will be a wonderful gift to the elderly Home Owner who has had knee surgery and will need lots of rest!
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