5 Star Housesitters

Tag: housesitting

Two ways to say adorable – Frankie and Teddy!

Although our core business is medium- to long-term housesitting, dog sitting, (and cat care, too!), it’s often fun when it works out for us to help with shorter term needs, too. We were so fortunate to have the opportunity to care for two cockapoo brothers (litter mates) in Boulder — it’s a good thing it was for just a long weekend, the two were so enchanting, we could hardly stop ourselves from taking picture after picture after picture!

Frankie and Teddy are adorable, and it’s not just our biased perspective — just look at the pictures! 🙂 We loved being out with them — not only were they fun, well-mannered and easy to be with, the happiness they sparked in people was so wonderful to see! And such personality, too — Frankie act the “big brother,” pretty cautious, independent, watches out for “little brother”, Teddy, who is a little more open, accepting and generally good-natured.(However, Teddy can also be a little stubborn — f, for instance, you’re actually trying to get somewhere on a walk with him and he’s enjoying the smell of every plant, tree or pole along the way, you might have a bit of a challenge!)

Happily for us, Frankie’s and Teddy’s owners were part of a small dog meet-up group in the area, which had scheduled some morning meet-ups the dates we were there. It was just the perfect group for our little guys — we had expected them, particularly Teddy, to be a little reserved, but they were so excited to go romping, chasing and playing with their friends, the one morning we we weren’t able to take them, you could just feel their disappointment. (The day wasn’t a total bust for them though, because they got to go on a CAR RIDE!, another favorite past time).

It’s always a little sentimental to leave some of our favorites (actually, all of them steal our hearts in their own special way), and it was particularly tough to leave these little two, but knowing how loved and well-cared for they are makes it easier. We are so looking forward to the next time it works out for us to be housesitting and dog sitting for this great family!

September 19, 2015
Dog sitting Amstel– the Mighty in the Mini! 🙂

Ever have the experience of committing to something, then showing up and feeling “what have I gotten myself into?” Meeting Amstel, a 100 lb cross between a pyrenees-mastiff and an Australian cattle dog, was like that for us, but, fortunately, the story has a happy turn!

When we talked to his owner about long term house sitting and dog sitting Amstel for a month, he upfront told us Amstel was very protective, but a sweetheart once you knew him, so, he thought it best that we come in a couple nights early to get acquainted with him..

…and, my, was that first night a challenge! When you meet Amstel outside the house, even in the front yard, he’s a friendly, beautiful, calm boy who loves being petted. However, once you cross the threshold into “his” domain, you’re now a threat. Although he doesn’t have a history of biting, the snarling and nipping to herd you away is, unsettling, to say the least. As we headed to bed that night, both of us were thinking he’s never going to accept us and we’re just not going to be able to make this long term house sitting arrangement work. The next morning when we woke up, there was Amstel, 100 pounds of menace (it seemed to us) guarding his owner’s bedroom door — we felt the only safe option was just to stay in the room until his owner was up and around.

And now the story gets better, for us! As we spent more time with Amstel that day — accompanying him on his hour long walk in the park, being there for his morning piece of toast, getting him breakfast and dinner — we saw the beautiful, regal, playful boy he is to those in his “circle of trust.” By the next day, when the owner left, he had fully adopted us, and it just kept getting better from there!

Amstel is, of course, stunningly handsome, but he is a big boy who has to be careful. His daily routine starts with a trip to the park in “his” Mini Cooper convertible, top down whenever possible (the owner kindly instructed us to use the Cooper whenever we could take Amstel with us). The happiness on his face as the wind blew his fur back and offered his nose a constantly-changing menu of street and landscape smells was precious. People in other vehicles were constantly doing a double-take to see this human-sized beauty riding upright in the back — we often had people stop when we parked and come over to tell us how it made their day to see such a sight!

The hour or so we’d spend on his walk in the park was also a treat for us — clear summer mornings in Colorado are glorious, with crystalline blue skies, just a hint of cool in the air, and, in this park, shimmering sunlight on the large pond. Back at home was time for Amstel’s toast, a particularly heart warming ritual. This big boy was such a gentle giant with those in his “circle,” watching him rise on his hind legs and ever so gently take the piece of toast being offered was a special bonding ritual we loved.

Besides going for car rides in “his” convertible whenever possible, Amstel’s other fun times included playing keep away with his ball (his excited breathing as he held the ball in his mouth made him sound like a raging animal, which took some getting used to), and occasionally playing with his best bud, Toosa, a small golden retriever owned by the owner’s daughter (who was always around to help out when needed). On his least favorite list of things is firecrackers (and of course we were there 4th of July season), people coming to the house (I thought we going right through the window) and ambulance sirens (although it’s hard to say whether the sirens bothered him or intrigued him — here’s a video of him howling with sirens, would be interesting to know Why do dogs sing?).

The month housesitting and dog sitting with Amstel flew by, but, he will always be one of our very special “little” friends, and we hope we have the opportunity to see him again, soon!

September 18, 2015
Our fun time housesitting and dogsitting in NC!

We had so much fun housesitting and dogs sitting ( 🙂 ) our happy labradoodle , Elle, and her “sister,” Gracie May, the cockapoo mix, that, we decided to put together a little video of our time together — hope you enjoy!

September 17, 2015
Happy at home in the Blue Ridge Mountains or a pet resort?

Elle’s (pronounced Ellee) and Grace May’s owners were planning a trip out of the country, and chose “happy at home” housesitting and dogs sitting (shouldn’t it be plural? 🙂 ) instead of a fancy pet resort for their two. And why not? With 10 acres to ramble across in the forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Elle and Gracie May had a pretty idyllic life, at home!

The girls were a lovely twosome to care for. Elle is a cross between a poodle and a black lab, making her a labradoodle, but different looking than any other we had seen! Gracie May’s long, long lashes hinted cockapoo to us, but the owners thought perhaps schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle). Both girls are beautiful and easy-going, but Elle had developed seizures as an adult and was on orally administered phenobarbitol (thankfully we had no incidents during our time with them). Interestingly, although the literature says most dogs with epilepsy will start exhibiting symptoms before the age of 5 or 6, many of the dogs we’ve been introduced to which are taking anti-seizure medication started having symptoms later than that.

As relative newcomers to their rambling habits, we’d sometimes find ourselves a little unnerved about Elle’s and Gracie May’s casual style of recall — the girls would always come, but, pretty much, when they were ready. To soothe our need for reassurance, they trained us up into yelling “cookies,” if we were a little anxious and wanted them to come now instead of on their own time, which, they were happy to do, as “cookies” meant something fun to eat — a win/win! Of course, “cookies” doesn’t have to mean fattening dog treats — some cooked yam cubes, carrots, or other good-for-them non-kibble made them just as happy.

Both girls had very sunny demeanors — Elle is a big girl (about 75 lbs), and enjoys ambling and sunning, even in the hot and humid Carolina sun, and for little Gracie May, happiness is all about the nose. Of course, what’s more powerful a scent than poop? Yep, Gracie May had a little tendency toward coprophagia, not unnatural behavior, just gross to human sensibilities and something to watch out for.

Besides poop getting her into trouble, Gracie May surprised us all on one of our daily walks in the forest when, one day, she was curiously sniffing a decaying log on the forest floor and upset a hive of bees! Poor little girl was so confused and frightened by all the buzzing and swooping, but we finally got her attention and got her to run home. She escaped without any stings that we could see, thank goodness, but picking out lingerers that got caught up in her long, thick, curly fur was a bit of a challenge for us!

Besides the walks, forest rambles, and time in the sun (seriously, what would a pet resort have over that? 🙂 ), one of the girls’ favorite rituals was a night time chomp stick (a smoky, animal hide chew). For those of us looking to watch a show on TV, it wasn’t exactly a movie theater environment, listening to two dogs enthusiastically gnawing and crunching their chews, but it was pretty heart warming to see how happy and content they were!

There’s so much we love about being “professional” pet sitters (there really isn’t a PhD program or anything, but it is our full-time pursuit, and with our experience, we feel we’re very professional), and top of the list is meeting all the wonderful owners of these beautiful little ones. It seems to go hand-in-hand — of course people who want the best care for their pets are kind and caring people by nature! We hope life continues to bring more of everything wonderful to this special family! We left them with a little video of our time together — if you have a couple of minutes, you might enjoy it, too, here’s the link to Elle’s and Gracie May’s video.

September 17, 2015
Vera, with the beautiful green eyes

Our housesitting and petsitting engagement in Phoenix included a domestic cat, Vera.

Vera was a rescue, raised from about 4 days old in a family with dogs. Besides being just a beautiful girl, Vera was also completely endearing — she was very independent, but so enjoyed being held and cuddled. You would think having a bell around her neck would make hunting a problem, but somehow, Vera was able to successfully stalk and capture…stuff, fortunately for us, mostly manageable items such as crickets. She also had a strong food drive, so getting her attention was relatively easy (for a cat)!

Most of all, Vera was a pleasure to be housesitters and petsitters for, because she seemed to genuinely enjoy human companionship — yes, because that’s where her food comes from, but there also seemed to be a sense of “this is my pack,” which kept her hanging around her peeps (even the substitute ones!)

November 21, 2013
Double “trouble” 🙂 with two Goldens…

Bentley and Madison, two rambunctious but well-behaved Goldens we were housesitters and petsitters for in Phoenix!

Adorable Bentley

Bentley is a big boy, and like most Goldens, loves being close, which is endearing, and a little challenging because he’s LARGE! Loves walks, too — VERY interested in other dogs we see along the way, and curiously not so much interest in the ducks which congregate in the park pond (yeah!)

We only had Madison a few days, but quickly learned DO NOT play ball toss with this one! In our experience, Goldens aren’t AS “obsessed” with particular toys as are, say, labs or spaniels, but not the case with Maddy! Once she’s started with the ball, she is persistent, ingenious in finding ways to get you to play, and she actually gets angry when you put the ball away! The similarities between dogs and 2 year olds is striking…:) And that’s what makes housesitting and petsitting engagements, such as caring for Madison and Bentley, so much fun!

Madison

November 10, 2013
Have a Havanese – or Two!

Every breed has its fans, and watching these two precious Havanese for three months in Port Townsend, Washington certainly opened our eyes to the joys of smaller dogs.

We spent three months caring for these two, and absolutely loved their intelligence, energy, athleticism, cuddliness, patience and every thing else that is endearing about four-legged companions. One of the best features is their “pack-and-go”-ability — open the door, have them hop in the kennel and away you go on a day’s adventure!

September 24, 2013
Dino the cat!

What a wonderful time spending a few days in the Tacoma area with Dino! What a strikingly handsome boy, isn’t he?

Dino’s a very independent cat, until he wants something from you! We quickly learned Dino’s way to get your attention was to jump on your lap and kind of march on your belly — further instructions to follow, of course….

As independent as he is during the day, Dino is a cuddler at night. Not just anywhere on the bed will do, right up by your cheek is his favorite night time snuggle spot — now how cute is that?

…and the BIGGEST benefit of being able to care for Dino was the privilege of getting to know his parents, the wonderful and dynamic duo of Lynn and Denis! (Besides being an amazing health professional, Lynn makes great scones, too!)

September 14, 2013
Suzzie the Sheep Dog (and Bunnies, too!)

What a beautiful and delightful companion we enjoyed in Suzzie, the old English Sheep Dog! Suzzie is convinced she’s a 90 lb. lap dog, and really, who are we to argue? 🙂

Caring for Suzzie and her buddies, two male rabbits, Max and Flopsie (aka Mr. Nibbles) while her family enjoyed a 5 week European vacation was a joy. Suzzie loves walks and vigorous games of tug (which is a real workout with 90 pounds of bounding energy on the other end!)

The rabbits require some custodial care (wouldn’t it be great if they could be litter box trained), but they certainly were fun to watch during their exercise romps!

We were also fortunate the Suzzie’s parents gave us permission to take her with us at times. Beautiful Mt. Baker in July was a great respite from the heat, for all of us!

September 10, 2013