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The next best thing to owning a dog
Posted on 4 July, 2016
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Owning a dog is a big commitment. Not only do you need to find time to walk it every day but they can also be expensive - vets fees and regular grooming costs and pet food all add up.
Yet many older people, particularly previous dog owners, still want to enjoy the companionship of dogs without the long term commitment of ownership.
Becoming a homesitter is one way to do this.
People employ a homesitter not only to look after their home when they go away, but also to take care of their pets.
One of our homesitters, Pat Hughes, a retired maternity nurse from Norfolk, chose to start working for us for this very reason.
Pat joined us around two years ago when she returned from working overseas. After coming back to England, Pat wanted a pet dog. However, after a friend told her how much she had spent on vet bills for her dog, she decided to explore other ways of spending time with dogs.
Home and pet sitting seemed to tick all the boxes enabling Pat to get her fix of animals, whilst still giving her time and freedom to travel whenever she wanted, which was one of her retirement goals.
Now Pat has regular clients and not only gets to spend time looking after their dogs and other animals, but has also made lots of new friends.
On a recent five week home stay for a regular client she joined two local walking clubs and a Zumba class where she made new friends who she meets up with when she returns. She also attended the local church and was invited to lunch by members of the congregation so now knows a lot of people in the area.
She said, “When I visit new locations I throw my wellies and walking clothes in the car and go walking. I went for a wonderful two and a half hour walk along the Norfolk Broads the other day. If I’m looking after dogs I take them for long walks, but even if there are no dogs on the assignment I still enjoy walking on my own.”
If like Pat, you would like to spend time with dogs but don’t want the commitment of owning one, then perhaps becoming a homesitter could be the next best thing?
If so, take a tour of our website at www.homesitters.co.uk/become-a-sitter/ to find out more and how to apply.
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