Here’s how we got started as traveling pet sitters.
In 2012, we sold our house and left our jobs to go on a dream trip around the world. We had a long list of places we wanted to see but no idea how long our money would last. We thought we might be gone about a year.
Periodically while traveling we would slow down to decide where to head next. We spent days researching how to get to the next places we wanted to explore. One of us would identify a handful of inns, hostels or hotels that might work. The other of us would then selected the places where we’d stay. After a while I noticed a pattern about the places Garrett suggested. Often there was at least one place in the finalists that had a cat or a dog in one of the pictures. In the years leading up to our trip, our two sweet Shelties and cuddly cat all passed away. We missed having pets in our lives and needed to somehow get some pet time in during our travels.
We turned two of those housing selections into unpaid pet sits. Cuddling and playing with four-footed friends was a wonderful addition to our time on the road. The homeowners knew their pets were getting loving attention. The pets got lots of loving attention. It was a winning situation for everyone.
While we were in India, half a world from home and trying to stretch our budget as far as we could, I learned there were websites devoted to bringing pet owners who wanted to travel together with travelers who wanted some pet time. We signed up, and the rest is history.
Our first sit through a pet sitting website was in Melbourne, Australia with two big, lovable Samoyed-mixes. They were an absolute delight! They lived for their daily playtime at the local “footie” field, and we loved taking care of them. The process of finding and setting up the pet sit was so easy. The homeowners gracious. Everything was so easy that we’ve continued pet sitting to this day.
That’s how it all began. By combining our love of animals with our love of travel, we were able to continue traveling almost three years. We will spend a good portion of every year exploring new corners of the world while caring for furry friends. We’ve been able to make new friends, cuddle and play with pets, and live in places we might never have lived in by pet sitting. This has brought a lot of joy and new friends into our lives, and I can’t imagine traveling any other way.
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