Hi! We’re Mike & Gloria, a fit and healthy, non-smoking, recently retired couple. We are having an amazing time caring for all kinds of pets, meeting new people and enjoying exceptional experiences in diverse places. During our house sits we have met the most wonderful people who have been generous, kind and understanding. The true bonus of housesitting is the pets. It’s also the hardest. Leaving behind a pet that you have become attached to is agonizing, but in a good way. It never occurred to us that we would bond so quickly with these adorable animals.
Gloria worked as a paralegal for 34 years in Albuquerque, NM and Wichita, KS. Mike retired as a battalion commander with Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue, the largest and most populous county in New Mexico. Both our careers were exciting, stressful and extremely demanding, requiring problem solving skills, adaptability, quick thinking and good communication. We worked hard in our careers and take that same strong work ethic along on our housesitting adventures.
Slowing down and experiencing amazing people, pets and communities has been extraordinary. Getting to know an area as a local is both fun and rewarding. We believe in buy local, supporting local businesses, and are comfortable in either a rural or metropolitan setting. We enjoy hiking, biking, pickleball, working out, long walks, motorcycle touring, good food, good friends and the arts. While we appreciate all the new experiences we’ve had, we know our job is as caregivers, first and foremost. It’s a job we take very seriously.
For the past 28 years we’ve owned homes in the mountains outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Yes, it’s a state!) We pride ourselves in being responsible, self-sufficient and able to deal with whatever issues arise. We pride ourselves in having always maintained our homes and property, including 90% of all repairs, and are knowledgeable with irrigation, septic and propane systems, wood and pellet stoves and radiant floor heat pumps. While not master mechanics or machinists, over the years, we’ve maintained major appliances, wells, pumps, tractors, mowers, motorcycles, trucks, cars, lawn and garden equipment and household mechanical systems.
Throughout the years, we have cared for our own menagerie of animals and those of friends and family. Raised in a rural area, Gloria cared for calves, pigs, chicken and sheep. During our house sits, we’ve cared for animals requiring special diets and medications, dogs that tried to eat porcupines, and elderly pets requiring a little more understanding and tenderness. Taking pets on walks is always a treat, as we get to know the area, the locals and their pets. Our last dogs insisted on long walks 2 and 3 times a day, rain, shine, sleet or snow! We know each pet has its own personality and likes to be treated as an individual. We’re here to learn your animal’s needs, to love, pamper and treat them as a special member of our family and to have FUN with them!! While we aren’t experts on all animals, we will follow your instructions on how to care for any with which we are unfamiliar. We are always up for a challenge.
During our house sits, homeowners have requested many things of us, including taking their vehicles in for service, driving them to and from the airport, fixing dinner for them, gathering fruit and vegetables from their gardens, hauling hundreds of pounds of unwanted items to the transfer station, vet appointments, picking up and/or delivering items for them, dealing with a myriad of repair personnel, to list a few. We have always risen to the occasion. Keeping the homes we care for clean and the properties mowed is a given, regardless of the size or acreage. Your home is our home and that’s how we treat it.
Thank you for letting us into your home, if only by this introduction. We love what we do, hope you’ll consider us to care for your pets and property, and want you to know just how much we appreciate this opportunity. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Mike & Gloria Prickett