We were able to visit with Biscuit’s owners prior to the sit and were pleased that we would be caring for this full of fun little dog. Our first sit with Biscuit was cut short because of Brisbane having a 3 day snap lock down due to Covid. Biscuit’s owners had a family member care for him for one night to allow us to go early to our next sit which then in turn allowed those owners to leave early to avoid the restriction of movement during the lock down. We were very happy to be invited back for another short stay with Biscuit in February. We were close to everything that we needed and it was lovely to walk the streets of this leafy suburb with Biscuit. There are several cafes nearby all within walking distance and Biscuit enjoyed accompanying us to these.

Biscuit has a resident possum residing in the trees in his backyard. We were mindful as to not have him out too early in the morning or late at evening due to the fact that he would be barking non stop in order to see the intruder off his property. He was a gentle little dog but certainly didn’t like those possums or the postman!

Biscuit could be found any time of the day relaxing on the lounge. He kept us amused with his changing positions on the couch. He was a very easy little dog to look after and a touch of the lead would have him at the front door ready to go for a walk!

The most challenging sit to date but we would do it all over again!

We met with Rosie & Busby’s owners prior to the sit and were given the back stories of these two beautiful rescues. They could not have found themselves with any better owners for their new lives. Their devotion to Rosie & Busby is outstanding.

Rosie suffers anxiety greatly and with having a new home built either side the vet thinks that, that might have started off her paw licking, she had well and truly licked some sections of her paws to the stage of being raw in some spots. Then throw us (new carers) into the mix and the licking continued.

Communicating with Rosie’s owners we were able to try several things which included taking her to the vets to have a cone fitted, an antiseptic spray to deter her from licking, applying hemp oil to her fur gently massaging it in and covering her legs with socks. The cone just exacerbated her anxiety to a higher level so that was off within the hour, the spray helped as did we felt, applying the hemp oil. The socks she had chewed off her legs in record time!

We are very pleased to say that Rosie calmed down over a period of time and she must of thought that “This pair aren’t that bad after all” We stayed strictly to her routine and it was lovely to see this beautiful girl get better with things every day. She was walked twice daily and enjoyed going out early morning and late afternoon due to the heat.

Busby was also a delight and with everything that was going on we feel looking back on the sit, took second place. We also kept Busby in his routine and each day he was given his food supplement which he always took gladly. Busby is an “inside only” cat.

Responsibilities Included:

Food/Water for Rosie & Busby

2 X Daily Walks for Rosie

Medication – Weekly tablet for Rosie & Daily Food Supplement for Busby

Cleaning & Change Litter for Busby

Security of the Home

Mail Collection

Watering of Indoor/Outdoor Plants

Lawn Care

Once again with a gap in between sits we applied to care for Buddy as our dates connected perfectly. We visited prior and met with Buddy and his little family. This is one small boy who is a much loved member of the family with a huge personality. He was our first Staffy and we fell in love instantly! Buddy is well behaved, loves his walks and a play in the backyard with his two balls. Yes two, as the only way you can get one off Buddy is to throw the other!

Buddy loves to be with you and at night he would lie near you while you watched TV. We had so much fun with this little bundle of muscle and would return in an instant to be with him.

Visiting prior to looking after Louie and having a small gap to fill in between sits we were very pleased to be chosen by Louie’s owners as the dates fitted perfectly for us to connect the sits.

Louie was 5 months old, full of energy and fun. He has lots of toys to choose from with some being his favourites. He lives straight across from the beach and it was just lovely walking him several times throughout the day either on the beach or the pathway beside. With a cafe nearby we were able to take him with us and on the walks we were always stopped by admirers of Louie. We also were able to take him out as he travels well in the car.

We feel very lucky to be house sitting and looking after Sampson for his owners when we have gaps to fill – the above dates are two of these times. This is the 3rd time that we have returned to look after this very much loved family member.

Previous Sits: 06 Aug to 18 Aug 2017 & 29 Jul to 05 Aug 2019

With both owner’s permission we split for the week in order for Bruno to look after Max in Bulimba and for me to stay with Koda in Robina. This is the third time we have cared for Max who certainly has stolen our hearts! Well it probably goes beyond that as we can’t imagine anyone else looking after him!

It is now two and a half years since we first looked after Max and in that time he has moved house and now has the addition to the family of two playmates, two small boys. He is a little slower these days but still has his big personality!

Previous Sits: 05th February to 27th April 2018 and 04th July to 28th July 2019

Koda was our first little Manx cat that we have looked after and she is as cute as a button. We were recommended to the owners by other house sitters as they were already booked. Meeting with the owners and Koda prior to the sit we were very taken with her little personality. She is not a little cat that enjoys being picked up or nursed, but does love a brushing several times a day. Her markings make her look a little grumpy but she was far from it! Koda is an inside only cat but the owners have made the back deck secure allowing Koda some outside time during the day.

She has some quirky little habits which included if you went anywhere near the fridge she would immediately go to her bowl and sit patiently waiting just in case you gave in. For some of these moments she was allowed a few dry pellets. Her owners have her on a very good eating plan and all her food for the morning and evening meals were prepped and measured. They were stored in the freezer for our convenience. We likened Koda to the feline version of a Labrador. She just loves her food! Also, each night it was like she was on “neighborhood watch” duties. She would stand and peer out through the blinds for ages!

The owners have a lovely vegetable garden and also several flower beds in the front yard. It was extremely hot during our stay and these were watered daily AND we were the recipients of lovely fresh vegetables.

We were to be Bruno & Jax’s owners first housesitters and met with their owner prior to the sit as our dates worked in well to do a short sit. We have met many dogs named Bruno either on our walks or at the dog park but never sat for one before. Well now we have! Bruno is a beautiful big chocolate Labrador with Jax the Jack Russell X as his companion. We had a lot of fun on this sit with taking the boys for walks and watching their antics in the pool.

They are the best of mates and always together. It was lovely walking along the foreshore with them which was one street over. After our walk each day they would head straight for the pool and loved to play with the balls. Bruno mostly just went for a paddle with observing from the steps but Jax was up for more activity with jumping into the pool to retrieve a ball.

Jax loved to position himself on Bruno’s back to get a birdseye view of what was happening in the world. This was where he could be found many times throughout the day!

What a bonus to have been looking after Jazzie in her beautiful home situated amongst the trees in a lovely part of Buderim giving our stay a rainforest feel. Each day we had an array of different birds visiting us.

Jazzie is a very well trained and obedient little girl. She travels well in the car which allowed us to take her out for beach outings and days out. She loves a walk and each day looked forward to a short local walk or two. She made us smile when each night we were heading to bed as soon as the television was turned off she would take herself downstairs to her bed. In the morning after her feed she would then arrive at our bedside as if to say “well why aren’t you up?”

We enjoyed every aspect of looking after Jazzie including her weekly bath in her own purpose built shower! Housesitting gives us the opportunity to have exposure to different breeds and Jazzie was our second Cavoodle.

With pet and house sitting we have met amazing pets, wonderful owners and have had incredible experiences! During this Covid19 period we have been contacted by previous owners asking if we are OK and how we are doing. When visiting Nala & Keeta’s owners and meeting their addition to their family, a beautiful baby boy they commented if we ever needed to fill any gaps just let them know and they would go away! (We also have had this offer put to us prior to Covid by other owners) We did have a gap so off they went on a short break.

Previous Sits: 20th Dec 2018 to 04th Jan 2019 / 13th Apr to 14th April 2019