Trusted House Sitters

I often house sit for friends & family, but this was my first experience using TrustedHousesitters.com. I had a wonderful sit (exceeded all expectations) & highly recommend it. I joined because I love animals & travelling, but housing can be expensive. What better way to visit places you've always wanted to go, & learn about & experience other cultures, than to house sit in a location, home, & with the animal companions of your choice. I like how the opportunities are presented (listings, profile pages, references & feedback/reviews); that the homes & sitters are at least somewhat vetted; that you have a free place to stay (you may have to provide your own food & transportation), that you & the homeowners can communicate confidentiality before committing to the sit to make sure you understand your responsibilities, duties, expectations, additional details, etc.; & that TrustedHousesitters.com staff & veterinarians are available 24/7 in case you need help. The final agreement is between you & the homeowners (contract, guide/more information, etc.). I think that the resource materials & services you receive are well worth the membership fee (which can be discounted several ways, including by referral).

I had one decent experience and one horrible experience, where my dog ended up getting attacked by the sitter's own dog and had to go to the ER. I complained to Trusted House Sitters and they didn't do anything. It also turned out that this sitter was also homeless and used this platform as a means of living.

The thing people might like about this site is that you only pay an annual membership in exchange for free petting-sitting services which will most likely end up being way cheaper than a pet hotel. The sitters on this site can say they love animals all they want and will care for your animals as if they're their own, but at the end of the day, they get a free stay for their "travels" and taking care of your pet will become second priority. I don't blame them. If I was traveling, I would also prioritize that. The sitter whose dog attacked mine turned out to be actually homeless as well. This sitter did not own a home or rent a place, she said she was just bouncing around places. Had I known this, I would not have allowed her into my home and cared for my dogs who are essentially my children.

From now on, only fully paid professional pet-sitting services will be used from my side.

This site could not be more perfect for us. We travel so much and we always get so lucky with THE BEST petsitters, thanks to TrustedHousesitters.com We recommend this to everyone we know / meet - it's such a game changer and such an awesome way to invite such wonderful caretakers into our home! I love reading the profiles, checking the reviews, and being able to offer a Welcome Guide to our sitters :) PS: our last THsitters left us this Welcome Home gift after their incredible visit!

I needed to visit out station on regular basis and can't take by lab all the time with me. But because of this people I can visit back and forth regarding my work. Thanks for the services.

TrustedHouse Sitters has been a super programme for my wife and I to periodically enjoy looking after pets when their owners are away. We are no longer able to have pets at home, as we are regularly out of the country for months at a time, and when we did have animals, horses, donkeys, sheep, cats and dogs, THS was not established. Now in our Seniors' Retirement Resort, and still travelling regularly, we are not allowed to have pets. We have been able to sit in Spain, in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada, and in the United States. Looking forward to more sits in the future.

We have now completed 2 house sits and are currently doing another. All have given us the opportunity to spend time in London visiting our son and his young family without being constantly in their space. It gives us independence and enables us to stay in London for longer which makes the cost of plane fare more worthwhile. The duties have all been fairly simple from walking the dog once or twice a day, feeding cats and/ or fish, watering plants - all of which can be done before or after a day out. The home/ pet owners have all been extremely pleasant ensuring that our stay in their home has been comfortable and convenient. The hardest part is taking leave of the animals as we have generally got quite attached to them by the time of our departure! The only negative thing I can say is that there are too many house sitters and not enough house sits. So, you have to pay quite a high annual fee and then you have to spend many months scanning for suitable house sits, then you have to apply for numerous positions before securing one.

We've had consistently good experiences with this service over the past several years, and met some great people to boot. The first time we left, it was a bit challenging to trust a stranger with the keys to our house and our beloved dog, but we've had nothing but good experiences since. We feel much better leaving our rescue dog with sitters in our home than bringing her to a kennel where she's in an unfamiliar place. It's possible we're in a more desirable location than most, but we have had multiple people apply to do each sit, and since we're able to read their applications and reviews from previous sits, we choose whom we wish to interview by Skype before offering the opportunity to someone. We've had individuals, couples, and families sit for us for different lengths of time, who are from a variety of countries, and who've sat for us from a week to 6 weeks while we're away. Some of these are people we'd like to stay in touch with. In exchange, sitters get a comfortable, free place to stay.

The premise of the site, connecting people who care about their pet's well-being with people who love to care for animals, creates a forum for great interactions. My experiences so far have been that meeting the pet owners is often as rewarding as the sitting opportunities themselves. When I house/pet sit I am often looking for a quiet experience so that I can work on a writing project, but each time i have ended up extending my visit in the area so that i could spend a bit of time, or share a meal, with the owners themselves after the experience. It really is a great way to get to know other people. There is an inherent vulnerability in entrusting someone with your house and with your animal companions. That vulnerability creates a situation where real human connections can occur. The overlap of sitter and owner is usually quite brief, but much more meaningful than your average introduction. They are entrusting you with a part of their family, so they really want to try to understand who you are. The whole thing is very unique and cool. It's a great way to recreate faith in our fellow humans in the midst of a culture that is increasingly cynical and disconnected. Great service all around!

I have been a member of trustedhousesitters now for a year and have used them for seven times - we have had seven wonderful pet sitters care for our pets while we have been away. The site is easy to use and I have been able to find such caring, wonderful, responsible pet sitters. Once I submit a date I usually get about 30 applicants in the first few days and to be honest they are all so qualified and interesting that it is difficult to choose one! But I am thankful to have too many options than not enough. This site also saves us a huge amount in pet sitter fees. We just pay one yearly fee and we can use it as much as we want. It used to really stress me out: having to find a sitter and then I had to pay them a good amount which really added to the cost of our trip. I already have two more Sitters lined up for 2020. I can not recommend this site and service enough. It really helps to be able to read the reviews of folks who have used the sitters in the past. I would not be able to travel without this site. Plus it is such a nice feeling to offer your home and pet to someone who loves animals but may have limited income in their retirement so they can visit other parts of the world. I have been very happy with this service and recommend it to every pet owner I know!