We offer you PEACE of MIND SERVICES. We do not charge a fee, instead, we prefer -- FREE house and pet care in exchange for FREE stay-over arrangements.
We finalize our commitments with a written agreement initiated by the home / property owner. References provided upon request.
We are healthy, reliable, adventurous, organized, non-smokers, no drugs or Rx, no pets and have our own transportation and passports. We reliably commit to dependable short or long term property, home and pet care services. We can also be present or absent when your realtor 'shows' your home to prospective buyers, too.
I earned a modest pension from the Department of Homeland Security / U S Customs and Border Protection officer and the USDA - Forest Service which I took on June 29, 2013 in Washington. My daily law enforcement duties at DHS / CBP included terrorism detection, inspecting and admitting approximately 500 people per day seeking entry into the USA. Inspections included their intentions, possessions and vehicles. I worked in ID and WA as a seasonal forestry technician for the USDA. I supervised manpower programs as a HRP coordinator employing enrollees from 16 to 80 years old in west central MI, enforced recreation law and right-of-way administration. Also active as a fire fighter / fire fighting and chain saw instructor and casual driver's license examiner.
I was a live-in part-time kennel caretaker and groundskeeper at Cedar Dale Kennels (now CedarDale Pet Resort) in Genoa City, WI. I cared for dozens of dogs & cats at night after finishing my full time day job in exchange for an apartment above the grooming business office. I fed pets, gave them their medications, let them outside in their kennel runs on week nights. On weekends I cared for the pets mornings and evenings. I scrubbed down and sanitized each kennel / run on Sundays.
My wife, Wendy, ran a licensed home daycare and raised her 4 children on a small farm for 18 years on San Juan Island west of the Washington mainland. They raised and cared for alpacas, cows, pigs, a horse, laying hens, a dog and 2 cats.
Wendy is an avid language enthusiast. She spent a year in Belguim after graduating high school and learned German, Flemish, Spanish and Italian during her travels. Wendy is currently a realtor and looking forward to a retirement that includes travel and adventure. We are both looking forward to improving our language skills and absorbing local culture when we locate our first international assignment.
Most recently I completed 2 solo / vegan-required assignments in December, 2016 & January, 2017. I had a month-long repeat house and pet sit in Portland, OR while the owners traveled in Ethiopia. I then returned to the area less than a week later to house and pet sit for 6 shelter waiting list bunnies in Vancouver, WA while the owner visited the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.
I completed 2 house and pet sitting in the Austin, TX area in October, 2013 after I left the Department of Homeland Security. I took care of dogs, cats, a snake & 6 hens and dealt with A/C malfunctions in both house and pet sit locations. A month-long Irvington Historic District in a 4-story condo and pet sit (2 dogs, 1 cat and plants) in Portland, OR in December, 2013 was very nice. I completed a two week sit for two cats in Denver, CO in January, 2014. We had a two-day sit (2 dogs) in Hayden, ID while the owners attended the Seattle Seahawk Super Bowl parade. We completed a 24-day house and pet sit ( 1 dog, 1 cat) in West Seattle in Feb. / Mar., 2014 and a month-long Travis Lake / Austin sit (2 cats) for a retired Army colonel and his wife on April 27,2014. Another sit (2 cats) was completed in Springfield, IL on May 12th. We had a repeat client (2 cats, lawn watering, hot tub maintenance & fish pond) in Denver, CO from May 18th to June 22nd, 2014. We then worked on downsizing and settling into our new home and have lived in Coeur d'Alene, ID since July, 2014.