House Sitting: A Free Vacation for Watching Someone's Pets
Everyone loves going on vacation, but it can often be expensive. With the high costs of hotels and plane tickets, we often think we’ll never be able to fulfill those dreams. However, today we’re going to tell you about a new idea called pet house sitting. It’s basically a free vacation in exchange for looking after someone’s pets.
There are so many places to choose from. Some great examples are villages in the French countryside, a house in Tuscany, an apartment in central London or a house in the emblematic city of Venice. Pet house sitting is available in so many places all over the world. Would you like to learn more about it?
Taking care of pets, a requirement of house sitting
We can’t take our pets with us everywhere. Sometimes, depending on where we’re going, it just wouldn’t make sense to bring them with us. Finding someone or somewhere that will take care of them while we’re away doesn’t have to be complicated. However, it can be expensive and we’ll always have another concern: leaving our house empty.
To kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes, pet house sitting came along. This is a new option for looking after your house and your pet, and it’s all for free. Instead of payment, you’re exchanging accommodation. Or, maybe you’re on the other end of things. You’d love to take your dream vacation anywhere in the world free of charge in exchange for taking care of a house and a pet. In that case, pet house sitting is the perfect option.
A personal opinion
Marley, for example, is a Canadian who has taken part in pet house sitting. He says:
“Thanks to pet house sitting, we found someone to watch our house and our pet. That way I could take my wife on her dream vacation to Europe for a whole month.”
Obviously, you’re not just going to give the keys to your house to just anyone. Pet house sitting requires that both parties sign an agreement. It details both the rights and obligations of the owner and the tenant.
This agreement could include the performance of small domestic tasks by the tenant. For example, tending to the garden, taking care of the pet’s hygiene, taking him for walks, or taking him to the vet if necessary.
There are also some owners who require more difficult tasks. These could be making repairs or picking the vegetables in the garden. However, these duties would also include a negotiation between both parties in which the tenant would receive a monetary benefit.
How do these sites work?
Whether you want to register your house or register your services to enjoy a free vacation, you’ll need to sign up on one of the pet house sitting websites. As with most registries and websites, you’ll need to enter some personal data and a contact email, as well a small description of yourself.
You’ll have to option to say whether you prefer dogs or cats and what you’re willing to agree to in a contract. When you find an offer that seems to fit your preferences, the site will allow you to contact the owner directly via email.
In order to get to know one another a little better, it’s recommended that you also have some video conferences after the first few emails. Face to face contact is always helpful when trying to get a better idea about someone.
There are so many great websites you can use for pet house sitting, and it might depend on where you’re looking to vacation. For example, hundreds of people in Europe used a site to find people who could watch their homes and pets while they attended the London Olympic Games.
Additionally, many people who wanted to avoid the crowds in London during the same Olympic Games offered their homes to available house sitters. Finding accommodation in London was crazy, but thanks to house sitting, many people were able to enjoy this unique experience.
So what do you think about pet house sitting? Would you sign up?