I’ve scored countless stays for free by looking after dogs, cats, turtles, and even sourdough starters.
Before leaving on their four - weekEuropean vacation , my hosts monish me about their wiener ’s compulsion for hoovering up discarded marijuana butts and other dangerous substances , so I was on alert during our daily walks through theirSanta Cruzneighborhood . I had n’t racked up 22 five - headliner pet sitting reviews by being a shirker . One day , as we gear up to cross the street , the pup snap up something I could n’t discover .
“ Drop it ! ” I demanded .
She chomp down , send bursts of an unidentifiable white powder from both side of her oral cavity before ptyalize a little foil packet onto the sidewalk . My panic rose . pass were my plans for a leisurely stroll , replaced with visions of a heartstopping race to the emergency veterinary surgeon . We rush back to the house , where I grabbed a pair of safety glove and carefully opened the mash foil mail boat , on which I could just just make out a few word : Non - dairy creamer . Phew .
Illustration by María Jesús Contreras for Thrillist
As a full - timetraveling house and pet sitter , I ’ve cared for 18 dogs , 14 cats , several gardens , three hermit Cancer the Crab , two turtles , and one sourdough fledgeling , mostly without dramatic play . I ’ve driven more than 6,000 naut mi up and down the West Coast , from the vinery ofSan Luis Obispo , Californiato the rocky coast ofSan Juan Island , Washington , and 23 township in between . And while I typically prefer farsighted stop or “ sits ” of at least a few weeks or more , I ’ve been do it to stay just two night for the right opportunity . One notable example of such an opportunity was a stunning seaboard household hang to a drop-off overlooking Agate Passage on Bainbridge Island , Washington , where I stayed in central for feeding a 17 - year - old black Maine common racoon cat named Salem , who mostly ignored me .
I was first bitten by the travel bug when my daddy took me toHawaiiat age six . Later , at 15 , he supported my high schoolhouse trip-up to what was then the Soviet Union . In my 20 , Itraveled the US in a Volkswagen busfor three months visiting dozens of national commons , and in my XXX , guide a chemical group of teenager on an donnish trip through Italy and Greece . after , as a unmarried mummy turned empty nester work remotely , I had the time and opportunity to travel freely once more — but I did n’t have the budget .
Learning about house and preferred sitting in substitution for accommodation was a game modifier . After research a variety of platforms , I decided to endow $ 135 in a basic yearly membership withTrustedHousesitters , a globular residential district with more than 7,000 sign and best-loved pose opportunity . Within days , I ’d book my first weekend stay with two quat in a magic seaside townspeople just a short driving and ferry ride fromSeattle . After assemble the homeowners via video call , I was good to go , arriving after the homeowners had left for a trip .
Photo by Amber Campbell
That first sit was fine , but not great . The cats were leisurely and the garden was gorgeous , but the firm was a piece grimy , and the guest elbow room unwelcoming . Since then , I ’ve set my sights a bit higher , only apply to quell at properties with lots of pictures and first-class followup from other sitters . And I always ask a lot of questions during introductory picture calls .
As a freelance writer work remotely , I spent the next few months traveling around thePuget Soundon short sits , building my reputation with positive reviews from pet owner , and sharpening my backpacking and organizational skills .
The more time I spent off from home , the hard it was to justify devote near $ 2,500 a calendar month for split . Then I lost my Book of Job and the decision was easy : I throw up my apartment , put my material in storage , and went on the route full - prison term .
Photo by Amber Campbell
In the year since , I ’ve save nearly $ 30,000 in tear while remain in sumptuousness waterfront household that I otherwise could never give . I ’ve strolled along individual beaches , cooked in chef ’s kitchens , souse in outdoor hot bathtub , sweated in Swedish saunas , and avoided realize eye contact with in - home gymnasium . Comparable adjustment would have likely cost more than $ 70,000 if I book them on Airbnb , but in rally for my services as a favored sitter , they be me nothing .
That ’s not to say my yearly expense are $ 0 . I typically grease one’s palms my own intellectual nourishment and toilet articles , and have spent about $ 2,300 on bridge stays — hotels or Airbnbs — in between sits during the preceding year . But I ’m spending a passel less than I used to , and realize so many beautiful places at the same time .
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New platforms are popping up for house swapping, pet sitting, and more.
But that ’s not the only benefit . Since I started pet posing , I ’ve also gather many kind and creative people : weavers , author , musicians , painters , roofing tile creative person , and more , many of whom are retired and aging adventurously while cruising the Mediterranean or biking the hills of France .
One couple — now friends — welcome me to a pet sit with unfermented negronis and a traditional Japanese spicy tummy dinner party , curated several feeding bottle of vino for me from their personal cellar , and fall bearing gifts at the end of the sit . I ’ve favourite sit for them on two affair , and their industrious cattle dog Wasabi was a great fellow traveler who napped nearby while I spent hour writing until it was time for both of us to stretch out our legs and head alfresco for a game of fetch . I ’ll shortly be head back for my third visit to this spectacular home overlooking the Salish Sea onLummi Island , Washington .
The least glamourous part of housesitting is the ending - of - pose clean . As a perfectionist who loves to earn a five - star inspection , I ’ve learned the hard direction to give myself plenty of clip to return the household to at least the condition I found it in , if not better .
Once , I was nearly land up vacuuming at the last of a 10 - solar day sit with a handsome minuscule West Highland white terrier who peal a bell when he needed to go outside , and had already log 10,000 steps while cleanse that morning time . The householder were n’t due back for at least an 60 minutes , so I strip down to leging and a sports brassiere to fetch up up . That ’s when I heard the terrier barking — something he had n’t done during my full visit . I quickly track down downstairs and right into the householder , whom I had n’t met before . Awkward ! concisely thereafter , in my embarrassment , I negociate to walk off with their postal service winder and had to FedEx it back the following week .
But the professional of house and pet seat liveliness still preponderate the cons for me , awkward moments and all . The sumptuous homes , rock-bottom cost of keep , and new experience are all wondrous , but when it comes down to it , this modus vivendi is all about the satisfaction of building trustingness with animals , keeping them out of trying kennel , and bring home the bacon their world with peace of mind of psyche while they ’re out of town . preferred seance is n’t for everyone , but for me , the ability to go extensively while supply a military service I feel honorable about is rightfully a ambition come rightful .
Photo by Amber Campbell
