Missy & Billy are two little Miniature Schnauzers living in a leafy suburb approximately 3kms from Brisbane City. They both have different personalities and are highly entertaining. Billy is very affectionate and has taken a shine to Bruno never leaving his side. Missy is a little more independent but with each visit we find that she also now likes to stay close by. We have sat for the owners several times now, their home is a beautiful, large renovated Queenslander with pool. As with most Schnauzers, they are full of energy and love their daily walks. Having the run of the house they certainly let you know when someone is coming through the front gate!

Missy & Billy have lovely natures and are very easy to care for. On our second stay with them though, we had a little “heart stopping” moment!

Access to the home is by security code only, which the owners felt comfortable to give us as they were flying out early morning prior to our arrival. On our arrival we thought it a little strange that there was no barking. We searched the entire house for them and they were nowhere to be found. We contacted the owners and then they were a little panicked as when they had left, Missy and Billy were safely in the house. After what seemed forever the owner phoned back and with all the organising to go away, and with the craziness that Christmas can bring forgot that they go to “Doggy Daycare” on that day and had been picked up by the lady who runs the centre who also has access to the home! Here they had been having a wonderful time oblivious to everyone’s distress and bounded in later that afternoon full of life. We were so happy to see those eight little legs come through the door.

To date now we have sat Missy and Billy 5 times and the owners say that both dogs have never reacted to anyone like they do to Bruno. It is quite amusing to see that their attention is solely on him when we arrive.

Return Sits: 27th December – 31st December 2017 / 2nd January – 9th January 2018 / 30th March – 1st April 2019 / 24th April – 28th April 2019

We were staying on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and saw the alert through Aussie House Sitters for a last-minute pet sit for one night only. As we were staying nearby and the owner was getting desperate we decided to help out.
Phone contact was made and we arrived in the morning of the 4th. In our care were Millie and Scruffy, one budgerigar and two hens.

After returning from France in late September 2016 we were contacted through Aussie House Sitters, by Kit and Mabel’s owners, who asked us if we would do their pet and house sit as they were travelling down South to spend Christmas with family. We drove down to meet with the family and of course Kit and Mabel prior to the sit. We were pleased to accept the sit as this also placed us close to family for Christmas.

Kit and Mable were easy to look after, we were told by their owners that it was very normal for them to hide during the day. Over the four day period we were able to have them socialise with us at night though. Kit had a cardboard box by the front door that he loved to slowly demolish.

Alizé and Arthur are brother and sister Miniature Schnauzers with huge personalities and quirky little habits living in Argeles sur Mer, France close to the Spanish Border. This was our first time caring for Miniature Schnauzers and we thoroughly enjoyed doing so.

Alizé was to have some tests done a few days after we arrived. We accompanied her owner, with Alizé to the vet and after a thorough examination Alizé was given the all clear. The owner then happily departed on her holiday.

We were quite excited to be looking after Nelson and Leon. We arranged this sit while staying in France and met with the owners a week prior. Salon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. It is the location of an important air base. Nelson was to be our smallest pet to date that we had looked after.

The owners were travelling to Australia for 4 weeks to tour the country in a motorhome. Leon had access to the house 24/7 through a secure window, so therefore came and went as he pleased. Both Leon and Nelson were a pleasure to look after. Nelson being such an interesting pet and Leon with his lovely nature.

Daily Responsibilities Included:
Security of the home
Collecting mail
Daily watering of the lawn for one hour/watering any potplants
Feeding Leon his wet food at night and to top up his dry food during the day
Playtime with Leon
Clean water each day for Leon/Nelson
Feed Nelson his dry pellets and also feed him lettuce and tomato every few days
Clean Nelson’s tank out weekly and provide a fresh base for him. Prior to the clean remove any uneaten food and keep his tank generally clean
Keep an eye out in case Nelson turned himself over and was unable to rectify the situation
Yard time for Nelson, being sure that you kept an eye on him because boy could those little legs move!

Lectoure was another housesit that we had arranged in France prior leaving Australia in 2016. Lectoure is a commune in the Gers department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is located 32 km north of Auch, the capital of the department, 30 km south of Agen and approximately 76 km northwest of Toulouse. It is a lively hilltop village with lots of lovely restaurants and interesting shops.

We were looking after Doogal who is a Labrador X with a very gentle nature and Tigger was the “patisserie” loving cat. Not that Tigger was fed these treats, but we quickly learned not to leave anything like this around as he decided to help himself to an éclair left in the box on the kitchen table one day.

Doogal had a daily walk through the fields, walking on the road wasn’t an option as the roads were very narrow & winding. He loved you hitting the ball with the tennis racket and would take off at incredible speed to retrieve it. The further away hit the better!

During the day he would sit and just gaze out over the fields as if pondering the meaning of life! This always amused me.
Tigger could come and go as he pleased through his cat flap and could always be found either sunning himself on the outdoor furniture or asleep under one of the cars. This was something you had to watch for when going somewhere in the car.

Daily Responsibilities Included:
Feeding Doogal and Tigger, morning and night
Doogal had dry food both morning and night
Tigger had dry food topped up throughout the day and a sachet of wet food at night
Daily Walks & Ball Play with Doogal
Fresh Water Daily
Security of the home
Mail Collection

Before leaving Australia in 2016 we had secured several house sits in France. This one being in St Laurent sur Gorre in the department of Haute Vienne – France. We were only 25 kms from Limoges, famous for its porcelain.

We would be looking after Corot and Orla the dogs, Jago,Tilly & Minnie the cats & 6 Hens 

Following the owner’s instructions, we were on the lookout for the white chair placed at their front gate, as the property was very rural and setback from the road.
We stayed the night with the owners prior to driving them to the Limoges airport the following morning. They left with us many notes on the care of the animals and also places to visit in the area.

We enjoyed taking ourselves off either morning or afternoon to explore. Some nearby villages included Oradour sur Glane 19kms, Rochechouart 12kms and Aixe sur Vienne 14kms. One day we were very lucky to have our own private tour of one of the porcelain factories as we had arrived when no one else was around AND we were Australians!

 

Daily Routine Included :
Medications for Orla & Tilly
Feeding for the dogs was a very specific routine. Corot had to be fed first. He then did a lap of the kitchen with his bowl in his mouth.  You then had to put him outside minus the bowl. Why? If he still had his bowl and either Orla or any of the chickens came near it, he would attack them. He had previously killed a chicken when this happened. Orla was then fed. She would take her time stopping to look out at Corot as if to tease him.
Jago, Tilly & Minnie all were fed twice a day. Tilly and Minnie would be around you throughout the day. Jago most times was a ginger figure in the distance. He only came in to be fed only when no one was around. Towards the end of the sit I was very pleased that I was able to pat Jago and not have him run off.
Checking daily for ticks.
Fresh Water for everyone daily
Feed and allow the chickens to free range when we were home and to ensure that they were locked up at night away from foxes etc
Mail Collection
Security of the Property

  

This sit was very different from any that we had done due to it’s location and the amount of pets that we had in our care. The house was situated on acreage and a walk through the forest on the land was a daily must with the dogs. The owners fed the wild birds so we ensured that the feeders were also topped up. Through the kitchen window you never knew what might appear one morning a small field mouse and another a wild deer!

 

We looked after Henry while his relatively “new” owners went on a cruise. I say new as Henry turned up one day and never left!  Bellmere is a suburb North of Brisbane, Qld.

Henry was allowed out after his breakfast which consisted of a large sardine and we then did not see him most day until early evening until he would arrive back home for his dinner. Once fed he was to stay in at night. He was quite a big boy and would at night, if left outside decide to take on the neighbourbhood males. His favourite sleeping place was in the ensuite basin. 

Responsibilities Included:

Feeding Henry his morning and evening meal
Check his Water
Mail Collection
Watering the garden and pot plants
Security of the Property

 

 

We have house sat for the owner twice now and have to say this has been one of our more unusual sits. Zeus was present each sit but the two cats were just a flash in the distance!  They are also very timid with the owner and we were warned about this. We fed Zeus each night and put food down near the pool for the cats. We were then able to observe them coming out from the bushes, eat and retreat!  Was never quick enough to get a photo of the two!
Both sits were weekend stays. This home is not far from our own and we were living in our house at the time and did the weekend stays in order to help the owner out as she was having trouble finding anyone just for the weekends. Walking Zeus was not an option also as he makes it to the fence boundary then refuses to walk any further. We were also advised by the owner that this would happen. 

Responsibilities included:

Security of the home
Feeding nightly both Zeus and the cats

Daisy – a very lively little Jack Russell! A little girl with a big personality! Rosie and Prince’s family recommended us to Daisy’s owners while they also went on a cruise.  Daisy is an outside dog who had access to all the comforts of home in her large undercover outside area. She had several places to lie and sit and would let you know if you were on her chair. She had a small shell swimming pool which she used to cool down after every walk. Her own toy box filled with an assortment of toys. We took her out with us many times in the car to the beaches on the Sunshine Coast – Queensland. She travelled well and was never a problem. Daisy normally would only have one walk a day, but Bruno could never resisit the little face looking through the glass door, so off on a walk they would go!

 

Daily Routine Included:

Mealtime – Morning and Evening
Playtime – Daisy had toys that she liked to strategically place around the yard for us to retrieve and throw to her
Ball play several times throughout the day
Mail collection
Watering pot plants and general garden maintenance
Security of the property