Following the launch of our profile onto the Trustedhousesitters website, we started to, seriously, look at house/pet sits and applied for our first one in Clevedon (UK). It was a short sit of 4 days looking after a black Labrador, called Lily, and 6 Bantam Chickens.
The homeowners contacted us after receiving our application and asked if we could Skype. Looking back I remember just how nervous we were. We made a list of questions, mostly about the Lily the dog, but also about the care required for the chickens (as neither of us had any experience with these feathery creatures).
We Skyped the owners and the whole experience went really well. We chatted with them asked our questions and answered theirs. To our delight they offered us the assignment there and then. We arranged to keep in touch and organise arrival times and they promised to send us directions.
Our first experience was a really good one. We arrived and had a "handover' day with the owners prior to their departure. This was great for all involved. It allowed the homeowners to get to know us, show us around and explain how things worked in the house. We felt it was really important for Lily to get used to having us there whilst the owners were still at home. This was also a good time for us to know the requirements of looking after the chickens.
Lily and the chickens were a real joy to look after. We loved the fresh eggs the chickens provided every day! Lily loved her walks and quickly showed us around the local neighbourhood. She was quite a character, loved to listen to Tom play his guitar (think she quickly became his number one fan!)
We came away from our first experience in a very positive frame of mind. We had thoroughly enjoyed the house/pet sit and couldn't wait to apply for the next one.
