We are searching for someone to take care of our home in France, someone who is good with dogs. Firm but fair. Our two chocolate Labradors (Sky who is nearly 3) and Hope (who is French and just turned 1 in April of this year). They are both adorable dogs and will love anyone unconditionally. Sky is very biddable, but Hope being so young can push the boundaries a little, so it needs a reliable person to be able to reprimand her with commands when needed.
Our two cats, Murphy (a black moggy), is a 13 year old boy. He pretty much sleeps most of the day, but when it's food time he's always first in the queue. When we moved to our home in France just over a year ago we adopted an "outdoor" cat Arthur. He is, we think, around 8 years old. You can pretty much set your watch by the cats and the dogs when it comes to feeding times.
The ideal candidate will need to be happy to handle raw meat. That might sound a little bizarre, but we have both our dogs on a raw food diet which means chopping up pieces of chicken and other meat twice a day when they get fed. We have a large two bedroom home with 8 acres of land. We don't require you to do anything to the land as it is mostly trees and scrub. We would need you to feed the dogs and cats twice a day and that's pretty much it as far as the animals are concerned.
There is one other aspect that you would need to consider. My husband's mother lives in a property (gite) which is attached to ours. She has her own lifestyle and two dogs and generally gets on with her life while living close by. However, we would ask (as she is not a confident driver) that whoever house sits for us would need to drive her to get her food shopping once a week.
There will be a Mitsubishi Shogun Animal Jeep available for use during your stay (candidates would be responsible for fuel for the car), however it is my husband's mother's car and you will need to liaise with her as to its use. You should have a clean/full driving license as well as having full comprehensive insurance which will enable you to be Third Party covered for this vehicle. You will also need to be confident enough to drive a UK (right hand drive) vehicle on French roads. Alternatively, if you prefer to bring your own vehicle, there is ample space for you to leave your car under cover.
There will be a full animal care information pack with feeding instructions and other useful information such as our vets etc.