Anne & Craig

We are now VETERAN HOUSESITTERS - 11 yrs of sitting!

We took early retirement in 2013, so now at a young 70 and 66 we are enjoying the freedom we worked so hard for. Our old pal Casey (a Golden Cocker Spaniel) passed away in October 2012 and although we miss her, we knew then it was time to be more 'footloose and fancy free' with options to travel. We are therefore happy now to be with other people's pets and incorporate our travelling with some house and pet sitting.
We know the importance of being comfortable on a holiday, knowing your pet is safe and happy at home. We didn't use kennels for Casey or our cats when we had them, as we preferred that they stayed home and we had a reliable local sitter.
We are both lifetime non-smokers, fit and well and want to keep active and travelling for a long while yet. We are honest and reliable and understand our responsibility in caring for your home, garden, pets and pools. We have National Police Checks attached here to our profile and many referees you can contact. We are both fully vaccinated for COVID.
We began our housesitting 'informally' in 2004 when we sat two Burmese cats and a lovely house over a four year period at Boomerang Beach NSW, when the owners travelled. We were both still working back then, so the house owners planned their holidays around our availability each year. This relationship came about initially from a holiday where we rented their investment beach house and it blossomed when we covered their international holidays in their own home over the next four years. One year we just did a house swap - us to Boomerang Beach, them to our house in Blackburn. We have since done this with a Tasmanian couple whose house and dog we looked after in Tassie while they came to our house in Melbourne and enjoyed the use of everything here and our MYKI travel passes to go to the footy at the MCG.
Since joining this housesitting site, we have done housesits in Boat Harbour and Moruya in coastal NSW, repeat sits in Rose Bay in Sydney, Goolwa in SA and an annual repeat Christmas sit at Stratford in Gippsland Vic each year. We sat in Palm Cove in Far North Queensland - and still sit for that now 10yr old Labrador now they live in Noosa. We’ve enjoyed and Adelaide sit by the beach at Brighton, a magnificent homestead in Berry and multiple repeat sits at Noosa Heads/Noosa Waters/Noosaville/Sunshine Beach/Tewantin in Qld where we now have 7 clients. We've sat in lovely country properties in Daylesford and Yea and also did a month of sitting for two senior Police members in NZ's North Island at KERIKERI near The Bay of Islands. We've looked after old dogs and young dogs, a kitten, cats, pet mice, chickens, horses, a donkey, swimming pools, gardens and of course, beautiful homes. We have done many repeat sits now in the years since we started this wonderful past-time and are Platinum members with AussieHousesitters.
In Mar/Apr of 2016, when we did the 6 week Housesit in Kerikeri in the Northland of NZ's North Island, we looked after their two gorgeous Daschunds, an elderly cat that required daily medication, two horses, a donkey, 12 chickens, 4 bantamns and a few pheasants and quails. The extensive property needed regular mowing and the pool required some regular maintenance and cleaning. It was such a beautiful location and a joy to look after. We've done many more sits since then in Australia most recently for prestige properties in Noosa Waters, Noosa Heads, Noosaville Sunshine Beach and Tewantin. Our various sits there are now pre-booked a year in advance. When we fly to a housesit location, the owners make one of their cars available for us to use so we can shop and get about, take their dogs to the doggy beach and further afield for walks and have quick access to their vet should that be required.
Craig and I are both very fussy, neat and tidy people - a Virgo and a Libran - who are very house-proud in our own home and garden and we're people who love the company of pets as inside companions. Casey and our cats always lived alongside us in our own home for many years and that's what we expect when we come to housesit at your house.
Craig is a reliable and proficient handyman and gardener and walks early each day as part of his fitness regime. He's happy to do small repair jobs around your home and has replaced rotting decking boards (as requested by the owner), fixed broken fly wire screens and faulty gate locks, dismantled an old rotary clothes line and even added new palings to an existing fence for the privacy concerns of another home owner. I love to walk at a more leisurely pace than Craig and enjoy everyone's gardens along the way, chatting to locals where conversation is inevitably initiated by the presence of whichever dog we are walking.
House and pet sitting offers us the chance to experience new places, live among the locals and enjoy the company of loving pets again so that YOU can go away with peace of mind.
On average, we sit for about 24 weeks each year as the requests keep coming in and we love saying yes! We feel a bit like 'Nanny & Poppy' now to all the dogs and cats we return to each year and they always remember us. There's nothing nicer than being greeted by a dog that's pleased to see you again!
Dog breeds we've sat for include: Japanese Spitz, Jack Russell, Corgi, West Highland Terrier, Daschund, Irish Red Setter, Giant Schnauzer, Golden Retriever, Labrador, Ridgeback, Stafffy, Sheltie, Australian Shepherd, Fox Terrier, Irish Wheaten Terrier, English Bulldog, Giant Poodles, mini Pincers. Our cat responsibilities have included ordinary everyday cats and rescued moggies as well as Siamese and Burmese beauties, Ragdoll cats and majestic Main Coon cats. Administering any necessary medication to dogs or cats is never a problem.
We truly love what we do so please call us for a chat if we look like the right Housesitters for you.