We were contacted by the owner through Aussie Housesitters to see if we would be interested in pet and housesitting for them. As we were in between sits we said yes to the opportunity to travel to the Blue Mountains NSW area. We met with the owners the day before they left in order to pick up keys and to be given the instructions with regards to pet care etc. We were to be their first housesitters. They say ‘expect the unexpected” when housesitting – well we certainly didn’t expect to have two missing dogs within the first few hours of our arrival! We arrived the following morning and after some ball play with the dogs we needed to go grocery shopping.
We left three dogs and came home to one! Panic stations. Jake is the owners dog so therefore was left inside and Mia and Toby were their son’s dogs and as per their instructions were to be left outside in their fully fenced yard if we were to go out. Bruno immediately started searching the streets – asking workmen and the postman along the way had they seen the dogs. I rang two of the vet practices in the area explaining our predicament and whether they had been handed in to them – they hadn’t. I then rang the animal shelter in the area who noted their descriptions and would phone if they were handed into them. We rang the contact person we had been given and they in turn phoned the owner who then phoned me to say not to worry they knew the area and they were sure that they would return. This did not reassure our anxiety level unfortunately as the house was situated on the main highway. I also registered on the local lost and found website and within minutes someone had also posted a photo of the dogs wandering around the local school asking did anyone know who they belonged to?
We jumped in the car and a few streets away here they were – not a care in the world popping in and out of people’s yards. We called them, held the door open and in they jumped! We have never been so happy to see 2 naughty & very wet kelpies in all our lives. We found where they had got out and secured it well and truly. There had been a storm come through the area that we were unaware of and this had been the reason for their escape. We did not have any further escapes during our stay, thank goodness. The postman made us smile because after finishing his run for the day called in asking did we have a photo of the dogs so he could look out for them on his run the next day. We really enjoyed our time with Jake, Mia and Toby who were all ball obsessed. We certainly tired before they did!
Responsibilities Included:
Feed/Water for Jake, Toby and Mia
Ball Play for all three dogs
Morning feed George every 2nd day
Tank Maintenance for George
Feeding the Koi in outside fish ponds
Mail Collection
Security of the Home