For just over R1,600 a year, members of TrustedHousesitters.com can stay around the world for free and live as the locals do in exchange for caring for the resident pets.
This website links pet sitters and pet owners from around the world. They set up profiles, search for pet owners or sitters situated in particular areas and then make contact and arrange the sit. In exchange for looking after the pets for free, travellers get to stay in the homes of the pet owners at no cost.
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Pet sitters need to list any experience they have had looking after their own pets or home, or those of others. To make their record even more squeaky clean, they can add reference letters to show they are responsible individuals and upload police clearance documents.
In addition, house owners can review and verify sitters for others.
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Why do people do it? ‘Many people housesit… out of sheer love for pets, especially single travellers or those who don’t have a pet because of personal circumstances,’ Andy Peck, the director of the company, told Forbes. Plus, he added, they get a ‘staycation’ and enjoy living like a local.
Pet owners want their pets to stay comfortable in a familiar environment even while they are away, so a sitter is often the best solution. Besides, if they find a sitter through the website it cuts out kennel or sitter costs – bar the yearly website membership fee.
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If something unexpected happens, TrustedHousesitters.com has vets on call around the clock to answer any questions sitters or owners may have about the pets.
The website was started in 2011 in the UK and has connected almost half a million members in more than 100 countries.
Feature Image: Schweiz/Pixabay.
