Thank you for clicking into our pet/house sitting site. We (Spinner, Nugget, and Patches) would love it if you would take just a little bit of time to read about us and hear what we need in a pet sitter. Our Mom (Patty) travels as frequently as she can to Guatemala, sometimes visits family in other states, and goes on quilting outings/retreats, so we are looking for that special someone to stay with us while she is away.
I am Patty, a widowed 64 year old female. I am blessed with two grown children, Brian and Christina, that I am very proud of. Brian is an Executive with a computer tech company and lives in Burlingame, CA. Christina owns a company, GenteGas, in Guatemala. My beautiful babies, Spinner, Nugget, and Patches, are the only ones that live with me now.
Spinner, Nugget, Patches, and I are looking for the older mature, independent and reliable couple (or older mature single sitter) who loves animals. Spinner, Nugget, and Patches are very special to me so, for me, they always come first. Experience with both dogs and cats is a MUST. If you are not comfortable and equally love both dogs and cats, this is NOT right for you.
We are looking for NON-smokers! Light alcohol use only please and NO extracurricular drugs. Guests are NOT allowed in the house or front/backyard. NO sitter pets of any kind, please! We receive a great deal of attention and love from Mom so we are looking for individual(s) that can share that same amount of time and love with us.
We are NOT expecting to pay for a sitter AND the sitter is financially responsible for their own personal transportation to and from our home as well as personal travel during their stay at our home. A licensed driver would also be necessary.
We live in a two story house in Clayton, California, a very quiet rural/residential community at the picturesque base of Mt. Diablo, in close proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area.
One of the special things about living in Clayton is that it is approximately 45 minutes to an hour from San Francisco, depending on traffic; allowing for easy access to many attractions; a trip to the Napa or Sonoma wine country are both within a short drive from Clayton. Closer to home, within walking distance, is the Concord Pavilion. There are numerous trails throughout Clayton. Also available is the Mt. Diablo State Park, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. If you are a golfer, the Oakhurst Country Club is available locally.
Within walking distance from our home is access to the Regional bus system, making it easy to access BART. Downtown Clayton is within walking distance. A bit further away, within walking distance or available through public transportation, are 3 shopping centers with groceries, restaurants, fast food, & coffee shops.
Much further away from our home is the San Francisco Airport (approximately 61.7 miles) and the Oakland Airport (approximately 43.5 miles). Both airports provide easy access to BART. Sites you may be interested in that are not reachable through BART will require your personal transportation. Our vehicle would not be available for those outings. Room is available to park your vehicle in our driveway.
Our home is located in the quiet Oakhurst subdivision of Clayton. Our backyard is quite large and has a cascading waterfall with a small pond at the base. The side yard has been terraced as a garden area. Depending on the time of year, you may enjoy eating outside on the deck or under the pergola.
Our home is 3,000 square feet which includes 10 rooms on the first floor; living room, dining room, kitchen with eating area, family room, home office, bathroom, and laundry. The second floor has 2 regular bedrooms with a full adjoining bathroom, a master bedroom with master bathroom. You will be staying in the master bedroom which has a California king size bed. A clean dresser drawer for your belongings and a place to hang clothes is provided. Wireless Internet and cable tv are available.
The large kitchen area has eat-in seating. You are welcome to use the kitchen appliances (pots and pans, utensils, plates, etc.) but please be respectful and clean up after each use. The kitchen has granite countertops, a gas cooktop, 2 ovens, dishwasher, trash compactor, and refrigerator. The dining room has a large dining table that you are welcome to use. The family room is a large area where we spend most of our time and has open viewing from the kitchen area with a high counter top seating area separating these 2 rooms. The laundry area has a front loading washer and dryer.
We have solar electric panels on the roof; and all utilities will be provided for you. Due to the long drought in California, please be mindful of your water consumption.
Our home is NOT child proof, nor can it be made so, thus TRAVELING WITH CHILDREN IS NOT A GOOD FIT! Also remember, NO sitter pets of any kind.
So, if you are looking for a quiet place to work on your personal project or a base to day-trip parts of California, this may be your spot! However, since most of our day is spent inside resting and playing, we would love for you to be here as much as possible!
My name is Spinner. I am a senior, 14 year old female yellow labrador retriever (lab). I am an indoor dog and also sleep inside at night next to Mom’s bed. I am very laid back, very affectionate, and love receiving all kinds of attention. I especially love having my ears scratched or sleeping slightly under my Mom’s chair so she can continuously pet me using her foot. And I always love having my tummy rubbed each night before bed (Mom is always there to help me, if I need it, to get rolled over onto my back). I would love to go on walks with you but unfortunately my body doesn’t act as young as my mind. Sadly, going on walks causes my arthritis to flare up and so we will need to just spend time together in the house or in the backyard. I would appreciate it if you keep a close eye on me to make sure I am getting around without incident. Also, because of the arthritis I have a difficult time standing up, sitting, and walking on the wood and tile floors in the house. So, we now have area rugs throughout the house to help me. I also have a special harness that I sometimes need to help me climb the stairs or come back down. The harness always needs to be used to help me get into a car. Again, please keep an eye on me to see if it looks like I might sometimes need some help navigating the stairs.
I eat twice a day; once in the morning and in the evening. I have a special raw food diet that is prepared for each meal that includes different items that help keep my arthritis in check. So, meals will take a bit more time to prepare for me than just putting dry food in a bowl. Due to the raw food diet, my bowl MUST be washed after each meal. Everything I need will be available at the house.
I get along really well with Nugget and Patches. However, I am sometimes a little apprehensive walking past Nugget to come into the house if he is standing right by the door or sleeping right in the path of somewhere I am trying to go. I am also a pretty "talkative" dog and will generally come to tell you if I want something. I always follow my Mom wherever she goes. So, I hope you don’t mind if I follow you into the bathroom! I will always be right there to help when you are preparing your meal or mine, washing up some dishes, or putting a load of clothes in to be washed or into the dryer. I wonder why one of our previous pet sitters thought my name should be changed to “Shadow!”
My name is Nugget. I am a VERY young 8 year old male Pomeranian. I am an indoor dog and also sleep inside at night in my kennel by Mom’s bed (I can see her from my kennel). I spend much of my day inside the house and I really love sitting in my Mom’s lap. I also have a lot of toys I like to get out that have to be picked up each night before bed! I also especially love “secretly” getting into Patches toys! Sometimes I can tend to be toy aggressive so please make sure I play appropriately. I can be a bit shy in the beginning around strangers but I eventually warm up and enjoy myself. I also seem to be a bit more shy at first around males but once I adjust to you we will become best buddies.
I am always very active and especially love to run in the backyard. I am very protective of the backyard and keep a close eye on things. Probably my favorite spot in the backyard is sitting at the corner of the fence and peeking out to see what is going on, and of course barking at pretty much anything! I can also be a bit strong-willed and sometimes to get my Mom’s attention, I will get in the pond at the bottom of the waterfall. That way she has to wipe off my feet and tummy before I can come into the house! Going on walks with you would be a special treat. Just ask me if I am “ready” so I can get my collar on. I know Spinner would also love to come with us but unfortunately she can’t.
I get along well with Spinner and Patches. I do sometimes softly bark at Patches if she darts past me. What I really love to do is to "pester" Spinner by sometimes nipping at her legs and feet in play (Spinner does not really like that) or even better is to lick her ears, eyes, or mouth. Spinner doesn’t really like any of this “fun” but it does serve its purpose by getting Mom’s attention and then Mom always tells me to stop pestering Spinner! Due to my “pestering,” Spinner is also sometimes apprehensive to walk past me, so Mom asks me to come lay by her or she picks me up. I really love that!
I also eat twice a day; once in the morning and in the evening. I also have a raw food diet that is prepared for me each day. However, meals will take only a small amount of time to prepare for me. My Mom also stands between Spinner and I while we eat. This way I don’t try to sneak anything from Spinner’s food bowl. My bowl MUST be washed after each meal due to the raw food diet. Everything I need will be available at the house.
I am very attached to my Mom and do not like it when she is away, even just for a very short time. I always seem to know when something different is happening and will need a bit more attention prior to and after your return. I also follow Mom into the bathroom. So, I hope you don’t mind if I follow you there also!
My name is Patches. I am a 10 year old female domestic long-haired calico cat. I am exclusively an indoor cat (I have NEVER been outside) and sleep most of the night on Mom’s bed. I am quite shy with strangers and very independent, so you may not see me around until I feel comfortable; then, during the day, I will probably sometimes come to sleep in the room wherever you are. You may not always see me but I am generally there. I may even come to sleep on the bed with you at night since Mom always plays with me every night in bed before we go to sleep. Routines are very important. So, playing every day is really important to me and it helps me to adjust. I get along well with both Spinner and Nugget.
I have always had allergies. Recently, I started over-grooming and this caused me to lick off fur from part of my stomach, back legs, and part of my tail. So, due to my life-long allergies I only eat certain foods, have special items added to my meals, and even have a litter that has no dust. You will love this cat litter and it makes the daily cleaning of my cat box very easy; no wet clumping cat litter balls or smells and it can be dumped in the garden as a compost (it is made from coconut shells). Due to my long fur I periodically tend to throw-up large fur balls that will need to be cleaned up.
I also eat twice a day; once in the morning and in the evening. Before each meal I receive special cat treats. I have a special freeze dried raw food diet that is prepared for me each day that includes various items in my rehydrated and wet cat food that helps with my skin allergies. So, as with my sister and brother, meals will take a bit more time to prepare for me. My bowls MUST be washed after each meal. Everything I need will be available at the house.
I love anything to do with quilting fabric. I always seem to know the instant Mom gets out quilting fabric. At any opportunity I will “help” by laying on the fabric, and even help with the sewing or cutting of fabric pieces. It is great fun to lay right in the middle of the fabric on the cutting table!
Our home is fairly self-sustaining; however, we need someone who is comfortable dealing with potential issues that always seem to arise associated with running a home and taking care of pets. We are looking for someone that can retrieve the mail from the mailbox every day and take the trash bins down to the curb once a week. We do have a drip system for the yard. However, you will need to turn the water and the clock on to run through the stations. Please keep an eye on the plants and only run the system late in the evening as necessary. We also have an alarm system.
We also need someone that can clean up after our outdoor business. We have appointments every other month at the dog groomers, so we would need to be taken to that appointment. We have an outdoor dog run for times when you may be away during the day for an extended period of time. However, we stay indoors pretty much most of the time, generally due to the weather, especially if it is hot or going to rain. For short periods of time we stay downstairs and if it is going to be for a longer period we stay in the master bathroom.
We ask that you arrive a day early and leave the day after Mom's return home so that you can meet us personally and spend time going over routines and home care.
Well, we hope this tells you a bit about us and appreciate your time to read our pet sitting listing. We so hope you will consider coming to our home to stay with us. Have a blessed day!