Special note before you read my profile: I'm available beginning August 2022 anywhere east of the Mississippi River. I've had three COVID tests during the past year when I moved to new locations, all were negative. I was vaccinated also (J/J COVID one-shot) first week of March 2021 and again (Pfizer) mid-September 2021. Will test again for any future move if you require it.
During the last eight years off and on, I have enjoyed seven home/pet-sitting stints (can provide references). I ranch-sat for horses and donkeys and cats in the Sierra Nevada Mountain foothills for six weeks. I dog-sat for three dogs near Toronto for eight weeks. Twice, I home/dogsat for my favorite family (and my favorite canine friend) in Austin, Texas while they visited family over Holidays. I home/cat-sat for six months in Tucson, AZ. During one Holiday Season, I home/dog sat for a couple from Houston who flew to Nebraska to visit their family; I was their airport chauffeur, too. I also was one of four managers for a beach resort on Culebra Island for three months. My most exciting home/petsit was a two-month home/dogsit in the countryside of France near Le Mans. Summer of 2014, I was in Kansas City caring for three cats in a historic Craftsman-style home in an historic neighborhood. It has been a great deal of fun!
I retired 2010 from the US Department of Homeland Security (ICE, we deported felons) and I now have a pension, medical insurance, Medicare and investment income. I travel in my campervan throughout the USA six months per year. July 2019 I sold my cottage located in a remote rural part of East Texas where I lived for 28 years and recently bought a vacant lot in Salem, Virginia. I plan to build a "senior home" perhaps in another two years. I am divorced and have no children. Taking care of your home or ranch and your pets would give me tremendous satisfaction, particularly if you live in a rural isolated area. However, I also enjoy cities!
I was raised on a farm in Lancaster County, PA, and have extensive experience with all animals and livestock. For the past four decades, I’ve owned and repaired my own homes and possess a can-do spirit. Because I travel in my campervan half the year, I pack lightly, clean-up after myself and leave no footprints. I cook with my gear rather than the homeowner's gear, including my own cutting board, chef knife and pots/pans. My pets as an adult have included two horses, cats and dogs. My best friend and neighbor, a ranch owner and nurse, has given me hands-on experiences and a wealth of information about llamas, donkeys, goats and alpacas. I am independent with extensive travels throughout the USA and abroad. I am physically fit to care for your pets and home. I was a former competitive swimmer now a long-distance swimmer, played field hockey in college, enjoy bicycling, paddling a kayak and canoe, horseback riding, and SCUBA diving each year on liveaboard boats. I’m also an avid reader of biographies and love to hear people’s stories about their lives. Also, I do not smoke, I drink wine on special occasions with friends and holidays, I'm neat and tidy and do not bring alot of stuff into your home. Nor do I need closet space as all my clothes are in a knapsack, and most of my stuff stays in my campervan. In other words, I'm quickly in and out of someone's home with minimal stuff.
The difficult part of finding the best match between petsitter and homeowner is having a compatible schedule between us and reliability/trust to stick with the plan. I normally travel for personal pleasure in Europe, USA and Canada half the year, so I am usually looking well in advance for a 1, 2 or 3-month pet/homesitting stint inbetween my travels. Yes the COVID-thing has affected long-term planning and travel; flexibility is my new buzz word.