We truly love the company of pets. Being able to do this gives us a feeling of satisfaction in knowing we are helping others to travel confidently while minimizing the stress on the family pet (or family friends) by keeping up the household’s normal routines until the family is reunited again.

As much advanced notice as you can give us is best. We are not available full-time, year-around, but we do schedule our lives around our commitments as best we can.

We will respect your privacy 100% and value your privacy because we value our own. Our go-to principle is “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.” We won’t look in desks, drawers, or files. We also ask you to define areas of your home or contents (dishes or special items) designated off-limits. 

We purchase our own food  when we stay in your home. (Though if you have perishables you want to share, we’ll gladly accept your hospitality.)

There is one exception to this–we ask to use basic staples, spices and condiments. If we use the last of anything from your cupboard, we will replace them at the grocer before your return.

Trust is very important to us. Without trust, we would never gain another assignment. Our references are probably the best assurance you have because each of these people can speak specifically to the experience they’ve had with us.

That said, we have passed thorough background checks with the FBI and local law enforcement and these were done by TrustedHousesitters in the U.K. when we began our housesitting life. (We were fingerprinted by a specialist from Scotland Yard to do so. That’s a favorite memory 🙂 

We are selective in our assignments in the same way you are selective in choosing someone to care for your home or your beloved pets. 

Safety is a concern. That applies to a safe living space and location. We also will not accept an assignment caring for a pet that is a known danger to other people. Venomous snakes and spiders, or dogs with a history of attacking humans are the sort of pets we would turn down.

Cleanliness is another concern in accepting assignments outside of our own home. The home need not be fancy or white-glove ready but a generally comfortable, well maintained, and clean home environment is our preference.

Respect and consideration is another important factor in the assignments we accept. We want to be treated with kindness and respect and you can definitely expect to receive that same respect and consideration from us. 

Our fees are on a sliding scale depending on the assignment.

When we host a pet in our own home, our base rate of $50 per day covers all basic care and required walks. Extra fees would apply if you require extra care or tasks – taking pet to a groomer, giving injections, etc…

When we housesit locally in your home for a single pet, our base fee is $100 per day. That fee covers all basic pet care, basic duties in your home ensuring all is secure, monitored, and maintained in working order in your absence (i.e., watering your plants or garden, filling your bird feeders, securing packages and mail, for example), plus maintaining the standard of cleanliness you set and prepping the home for your return. But a farm full of animals and barn duties, for instance, would require more from us than the care of a single house pet in a standard home. Any extra on top of the base fee is calculated based on the number of pets requiring care and whatever extra tasks are required. 

For housesits that are not local (i.e., within 10 miles from Hopkins), our travel costs are also factored into our price.

Contact us and let’s talk about what your needs are. We’ll provide a quote.

Privacy & Security

If there are areas of your home that should not be occupied, such as an office or extra bedrooms, you can expect us to abide by your instructions. 

Likewise, if there are dishes or other treasured items, please identify those and we will consider them off limits to our use. Lastly, you have our assurance that we will not “snoop” in your home – we wouldn’t want anyone to snoop in ours and so this is an issue of integrity that we absolutely honor.

Sometimes we forego our fee for housesitting if the location is a luxury property in a desired location. When this is the situation, we consider the opportunity to housesit to be a trade-in-kind, providing us with a vacation experience while we housesit. If this is your situation, please contact us. We’d love to consider the opportunity.