Active Canadian professionals available for housesitting

Username water_n_surf  

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Age
46 - 55 years
Availability
Dec 6,2024
Occupation
University researcher
Gender
Female
Term
1 - 6 Days, 7 - 21 Days, 3 - 6 Weeks, 6 - 8 Weeks, 2 - 3 Months, 3 + Months

Greetings homeowners!  We are two friends--Canadian citizens living part of the year in Sweden and part of the year in Australia (and sometimes home to Canada). Our Covid year took us on housesits in the US, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica as well!

One of us is a university professor (science) and the other is a retired teacher. Aly travels quite a bit for work, mostly for extended periods while conducting research in different laboratories around the world or working remotely on manuscripts. A retired educator, Karen has adventured all over the Far North and around the world. We discovered housesitting as a way to connect with people and furry friends while away from home. Work related travel makes it impractical to have pets of our own, but we both love dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, and really, just about any living creature. We're so much happier having a dog to walk or cat to cuddle. It gives us a sense of place, a chance to explore locally and a way to be of service.

As homeowners ourselves, we understand what it is to keep up a property and leave it in wonderful condition. We have each owned and lived in suburban homes, rural houses and urban flats, and we've done all the upkeep, renovations and repairs on these. In addition, Karen has off-grid acreage in Canada with a house and cabins that she has maintained for over twenty years, so she is familiar with generators and mechanical systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, woodstoves, etc.  We have been housesitting now for more than a dozen years (80 sits, many of them repeat sits) and have taken care of many beautiful homes and pets in Australia, Canada, US, Norway, Sweden, Aruba, Indonesia, France, Spain, Cyprus, Austria, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and New Zealand, so we're comfortable in just about any setting. We're familiar with many of maintenance and repair issues that may arise, and we have the skills to deal with these (swimming pool pump failures, broken appliances, floods, veterinary emergencies: we've dealt with lots of different problems and have always been able to resolve them). In addition to cats and dogs, we have cared for goats, sheep, horses, pigs, donkeys, llamas, various lizards, hamsters, guinea pigs, fish and birds of all kinds. We both love gardening and will happily take care of your plants and grounds.

We do not smoke or drink, and prefer a quiet evening sharing the peace of your home with your pets. We are very security conscious and will always ensure that your property is protected. Our motto is to 'treat it like our own,' so you know you will come home to a clean, well-cared for house.

Mostly when we are housesitting, we like quiet time for writing and working on manuscripts, so our only requirement is good internet. We are generally home most of the day, and Karen is retired but very physically active, so very happy to undertake projects and gardening as well as pet care, including long dog walks, farm tasks etc. 

We are both energetic, outdoor-loving people, who daily walk, swim, or cycle, and enjoy exploring new places.

Please check out our profile here; we're happy to provide you with many references from previous sits. Hope to hear from you!

Homeowner Feedback / endorsements (7)

“ Karen kept our dog Mattie very happy! ”

Sit Dates Aug-27-24 - Sep-13-24 Homeowner 4SLTmattie, Member Since May-17-24

Location South Lake Tahoe California United States

Karen stayed at our cabin in South Lake Tahoe for two weeks and took wonderful care of our small dog Mattie.  With all Karen's experience, we were confident she would be a great sitter.  Based on her regular communications with us, pictures of Mattie, and tales of their time together, she was wonderful.  Karen was also very flexible with her arrival and departure, and she accomodated us tired travelers graciously.  We highly recommend Karen for your petsitting!

“ Great housesitters! ”

Sit Dates May-10-24 - May-18-24 Homeowner olydia, Member Since Aug-27-04

Location Varberg Sweden

We are most thankful to Karen and Alyssa who housesat for us during springmonths while we spent time north! We got regularly reports from them and had mail checked and sent for us through whatsapp.

House was in perfect condition and even stocked with some fresh groeries when our  son first returned back. Garden was beautiful and they had planted seeds that had grown nicely- we now enjoy the ruccola and salad! A little sketch was left to show what was where in the garden. 

Flowers in the house were well cared for.

We really enjoyed to hear about there time exploring our hometown and although we didn´t make it to meet in person we will hopefully meet up later this year!

We highly recommend them as housesitters!!

“ water_n_surf is amazing! ”

Sit Dates Oct-6-23 - Dec-26-23 Homeowner CoralCove, Member Since Jan-15-14

Location CORAL COVE QLD Australia

Alyssa housesat for us from 6 October to 26 December 2023 while we were overseas.  

We own a beachhouse on the ocean and would not allow just anyone to housesit for us.  We were comfortable with Alyssa to look after our home and our cats and our feelings were proven correct.

She looked after our home and yard like it was her own and we were very happy with the results.  Our home was spotless when we arrived home and the gardens and grass were regularly watered and even the weeds were removed.  

She also cared for our precious cats and ensured we were updated on how they were.  

We would not hesitate in having her housesit for us again and would  recommend Alyssa for any housesits she applies for.

“ Karen was the BEST! ”

Sit Dates Sep-25-23 - Oct-22-23 Homeowner bikingmama, Member Since Aug-17-23

Location Bellingham Washington United States

This was the first time i have used a housesitter/petcare platform and it was an amazing experience. Karen arrived a couple days (as I had mistaken my day of departure) in advanced and got to bond with Molly (GSD) and learn about my home and neighborhood while I was still here. She drove me to the shuttle to airport at 3:45am and then picked me up when I returned.  I was gone for 3.5 weeks and she sent me pics and narratives about how things were going with Molly.  When I got home I noticed she had taken initiative to get my yard ready for winter, tended the house and garden, and Molly had adopted her as one of her major loves. In addition, I got to know Karen during our days together and can happily say, I have a new friend!

Karen

“ Good Experience ”

Sit Dates Mar-24-22 - May-3-22 Homeowner Tomatolady, Member Since Feb-8-16

Location Cedaredge Colorado United States

Karen did an ablosutely ourstanding job with our home, plants, cat, and decorative pond & fish, and took excellent care of a challenging situation with the pond.  

She kept us updated on everything going on, and the cat absolutely loved her.  He is an old cat and needs lots of love, which she gave him.  He was spoiled when we returned home, which is good for an older animal. 

She made friends with neighbors and others in the area, all of whom enjoyed doing cross country skiing, bicycling, and hiking with her. 

We highly recommend Karen to look after your home, pets and plants the way you would care for them.  She was respectful of the our organization and the way the way we keep things, and left our home clean and our plants, cat and pond in impeccable condition.  

Kathi, Cedaredge, CO

“ Excellent, trustworthy house sitter ”

Sit Dates Mar-15-22 - Mar-24-22 Homeowner Colorado_814, Member Since Apr-23-17

Location Telluride Colorado United States

Karen is a wonderful house sitter. She took excellent care of our 2 border collies and cat, and they seemed super happy and relaxed when we returned from our vacation.  She also left our house absolutely spotless.  I picked her up at the airport and drove her to our home in Telluride and really enjoyed our conversation.  I highly recommended Karen and would welcome her back any time.

“ Best sitters ever! ”

Sit Dates Aug-14-21 - Aug-31-21 Homeowner Tacohunter1, Member Since May-5-21

Location Rincon de Guayabitos Mexico

Alyssa and Karen are not just lovely people, they are also well seasoned house/pet sitters. Although our sit was short term, they made the long drive from their former sit to us, then endured 3 full days without power and limited water due to a storm. They operated the generator and took great care of our autistic dog, who normally doesn't eat for several days after we leave, but was fat and happy when we got home. He even pouted and didn't eat for two days after they left. Then Hurricane Nora hit and they weathered that like champs!  Highly recommended!

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