Case Study - Family turn to Homesitters to look after pot bellied pig

Posted on 18 July, 2016

Truffles

London-based Karen Hope and her family have been using Homesitters, a leading national pet and home sitting company, for the past seven years ever since they got a pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pig called Truffle and needed someone to care for him when they went away.

Pigs tend to be sensitive and temperamental animals and they also don’t like to be moved so the family needed someone to live in their house and look after him.

Raised near Homesitters’ office headquarters in Tring, Karen was aware of the company and felt more comfortable using a professional company rather than relying on an independent house sitter.

Homesitters carefully interviews and vets all its homesitters and also provides comprehensive insurance and 24 hour support for them when they are on assignment.

Owning a pet pig was the idea of Karen’s partner Paul who is allergic to dogs. Originally, Truffle lived in the house but he was soon moved outside when he became too big and given his own sty in the garden.

When this happened, the family decided the time was right to get a pet dog for their son and eventually they discovered Bedlington Terriers, a breed that Paul isn’t allergic to. The family now have Roka the terrier. Other additions to the household have been a corn snake called Toffee, a gecko named Bubblegum and a tortoise called Ginger.

The family tend to go away every eight weeks or so and always use Homesitters.

Commenting on the service, Karen said: “The homesitters we have met have all been wonderful. We find them to be incredibly reliable and conscientious. We like to use the same ones if we can as they are familiar with our home and the animals’ routines and Roka now adores both of the couples we use regularly.

We like the combination of knowing that the animals are being well looked after and that the house is secure. As far as we’re concerned, Homesitters is worth every penny and I regularly recommend them to others.”

Karen explains that although some people may be unsure of how to look after a pet pig, Truffle is actually very easy to look after. He needs feeding every day and likes to be stroked – and after a root around in the garden he can be bribed back into his pen with a piece of fruit.

Karen recalls the first time they used Homesitters, “The homesitters who first looked after Truffle were called Mr and Mrs Banks – Truffle was very happy with them so we always asked for them when booking – we used to call them The Piggy-Banks!”

If you're interested in a homesitter caring for your home and pets while you're away, please click here to fill in a reservation form.

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