Retirees: Travel Smarter with Pet Sitting
Many of us are looking at travel differently as we head towards retirement. With more free time on our hands, our travel dreams are within reach. Planning for longer travel time or even searching for a retirement location can be costly. But did you know that people all over the world would give you free accommodation in exchange for taking care of their pets? Welcome to the world of pet sitting!
Â
Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links where we receive a super-small commission at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase. We call this our Chocolate & Churro Fund.
Accommodations are one of the biggest expenses in travel, and can limit your vacation time based on price alone. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Pet sitting is a way to explore locations and neighborhoods more in-depth (sometimes with a four-legged friend) without the costly expense hassle of hotel or Airbnb fees.Â
Imagine having a cappuccino in Rome, walking to wineries in Bordeaux, or eating at hawker stands in Penang.
These places could be right around the corner! And all you have to do is give some love to someone else’s pet (baby).Â
Â
So what exactly do you have to do as a pet sitter? How do you find pet sitting assignments? And can anyone pet sit? We answer all your questions below in this post and offer a sweet discount to our favorite pet-sitting membership, trustedhousesitters.com.Â
Unique Choices in Pet Sitting
People all over the world are looking for someone to take care of their pets. The time frame can be from a few days to several months. Pet sitters can apply to take care of common pets such as dogs, cats, fish, and birds, and sometimes unusual pets such as horses, chickens, sheep, and alpacas.
Â
Some people like small dogs, some like large dogs. Some people only like cats, and they can search for just cat places. Opportunities might be close to home or halfway around the world!
Â
Examples of some pet-sitting assignments:
- Stay in the center of Paris with a cute little pug.
- Play with horses in the Irish countryside.
- Enjoy the beach or private pool in Phuket.
- Hike the mountains in Northern Italy with two energetic labradors.
- Sip wine on the terrace overlooking the Rhone river in Avignon with a Yorkie.Â
So How Does Pet Sitting Work?
Pet-sitting is a win-win for everyone involved. Pet owners provide free accommodation in exchange for someone to take care of their pet(s) and home.
Â
Pet sitters and owners sign up for a yearly membership with a pet-sitting company such as trustedhousesitters.com (this is the one we are members of). This allows a person to check out a full pet sit description and apply, and an owner to receive interested sitters or search for potential sitters.
Â
Everyone who signs up goes through a background check and needs to get verifications from family and friends. These verifications are quick questionnaires verifying that you are a good and responsible person.
What Are the Benefits of Pet Sitting?
From the owner’s perspective:
Owners want someone to provide comfort to their pets, keep them on schedule to reduce stress, and know that their house is safe. They want to know that their pet will come “first” and not be a “chore”.
Â
From the pet sitter’s perspective:
You get free accommodation in a location you want to spend more time in. You don’t have to worry about bills, bad Wi-Fi, and you get to explore a new region from a local standpoint. Also, pets make a place feel more familiar. It’s easier to talk to locals when you have a neighborhood celebrity as cute as Fluffy prancing next to you.
Â
The sitter receives free accommodation in exchange for taking care of the owner’s pet and house.
Â
Â
This win-win situation has created several helpful house and pet-sitting websites:
- HouseSitMexico.com ($79 USD annual fee)- only Mexico.
- TrustedHouseSitters.com (starting at $129 USD annual fee) – worldwide house and petsit opportunities.
- Housecarers.com ($50 USD annual fee) –focused on Australia, Europe, and North America.
- MindMyHouse.com ($29 USD for housesitters) – worldwide but more focused on USA destinations
- Nomador.com ($29 Euros for 3 months or $79 Euros/year) – worldwide with a major focus on European locations
Why We Are Members With Trustedhousesitters.comÂ
We’ve heard great things about all the pet-sitting companies above, but if you notice, some are very specific to locations. We decided to join trustedhousesitters.com because they have opportunities all over the world. Everyone on the site has gone through a background check, so that’s an added layer of security.
Get 25% off TrustedHousesitters annual Memberships with code EE25!
We are both pet sitters and pet owners. On our last trip to Europe, we had a family stay with our dog Ocho while we were gone. Ocho has a lot of human and dog friends in the neighborhood, which made it easy for our pet sitters to interact with our community.
As a Pet-sitter, What Should I Look For?
Each person looks for different things when they search for a pet sit assignment. It depends on the time they have available, allergies, skills, ease of getting to the destination, and mobility.
Â
I asked a few of my pet-sitting friends what matters most to them when searching for a pet-sitting opportunity. The most important factor to everyone was the destination, but other factors weighed in, too:
Â
- Our friends Bill and Annie traveled the world for a year with their teenagers and used pet sitting to save money on accommodations. As a family of 4, they had enough hands to take care of multiple animals. They searched for destinations that they wanted to get to know better but also checked that the accommodations could handle their whole family.
- Dani has traveled the world and isn’t stopping anytime soon. Because she travels solo, one or two pets are her limit, and the ease of public transportation in the location is extremely important. Rabbits are her new love.
- Cheryl and Lisa from WhatBoundaries.com landed some fantastic house sits in Tuscany and Fiji with their flexible work schedule (now retired). And really, who wouldn’t want to stay rent-free in Fiji?
On trustedhousesitters.com, you can search:
- By country, region, or by a specific city
- Dates you have available
- What type of pets you want to take care of
Choices will be shown, and you can click on each one to learn more about the house, neighborhood, responsibilities, and pet schedule.
Â
If you decide you want to apply, just click on the green button APPLY NOW. For better responses from the owners, send an email introducing yourself. Tell them about your experience and how their schedule works with your schedule. This is more personalized than just saying “Hey, check out my profile”.
Things to consider before applying:
Whether you are a solo traveler or a couple, here are some things to consider before applying:
- Is the timing right?
- How much will it cost to get to the destination?
- Is there enough description of the pet’s behavior and schedule to give you a clear idea of what is expected?
- Are the owners asking for reasonable requests?
Once you find a pet sit that meets your criteria and dates, send the owner a message and tell them what pet experience you have (dogs, cats, geriatric, etc) and why you would be a good match. If you are a candidate for them, they will schedule an interview time. The interview is for both parties to ask questions.
Â
Questions to Ask the Pet Owner
We usually have a list of questions ready for the owners. Here are our most common questions for the pet owner (Tom is allergic to cats, so all of our questions are about dogs):
Â
- Can the dog be on the furniture?
- Do they get people food?Â
- What are they scared of?Â
- How close are grocery stores?Â
- Is the car available for use or is there public transportation nearby?Â
- Are there any house quirks we should know about (gas oven or heater, special locks, sticky doors)?Â
- Will there be people like maids or gardeners coming over?Â
- Do you want us to come in a day or two in advance to go over the schedule?Â
- Is there a place for us to stay before and after?Â
- Any medications that need to be given?Â
- Are there any dogs/mailmen the dog does not like?Â
- Is there Wi-Fi? Cable or Netflix?
- Can the dog be left alone for multiple hours if we decide to go for a tour or evening dinner?
Remember, this may be a dream destination for you, but you still have responsibilities. That means you have to slow down and do smaller outings, but because you are spending more time in a destination, you don’t have to have jam-packed days in your free time.
How Far in Advance Can I Book a Pet-Sit?
Most pet sitting assignments are only listed 90 days or less in advance. Owners who have animals with more special needs or longer stays will list further out. Keep an eye out for the locations you are interested in and the dates you want.
Â
Create a saved search to get notifications when pet-sits come up in your desired locations.
For those considering relocating to other cities or countries, pet-sitting is a perfect way to get to know a place more intimately before you make the move.Â
Advantages of Pet Sitting
For those looking to travel, pet sitting allows you to spend more time in a place and live locally.
For those considering relocating to other cities or countries, pet-sitting is a perfect way to get to know a place more intimately before you make the move.Â
Pet sitting is a great way for people to enjoy some fur friends for a short time without the long-term responsibility. Â
Â
You can explore all the pet sit websites I listed above for free to see if they have places that interest you. You will need to pay for a membership to send messages to the pet owner.
Our First Pet Sit: Kiko
We started close to home with a pet sit in Mexico City. When Kiko’s profile popped up, it was perfect. His schedule was similar to the schedule we had with our last dog, Hayley. He would be a good intro for us to pet sitting, and there wasn’t a lot of travel involved.
Â
Kiko loved to play and cuddle and had a ton of friends I would meet in the park every day. He did have funny little quirks, like barking at dogs behind garage doors, or not liking bulldogs, but mostly he was easygoing. Besides rolling in something stinky one time, he was easy to keep clean even on rainy days.
Â
We spent two weeks with Kiko exploring restaurants, cafes, and neighborhoods in between his routine. Some days we just hung around the house, and one rainy night we ordered pizza delivery. The location was perfect for walking to shops and cafes, and we even discovered a masa-making quesadilla eatery nearby. We love Mexico City, but we know we can’t afford to live there. Spending time with Kiko allowed us more time to get to know Mexico City.
Our Pet Sitting Assignments Around the World
We have watched from 1-9 dogs on our pet-sitting assignments in Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, and Malta. In all three places, we met with the pet owner’s friends, took some small day trips, and never felt “rushed” to do as much as possible with the time we had.Â
Â
Expensive cities like Tokyo and London are now affordable.
Â
Have you ever wanted to live on a farm? You can try it out with pet sitting.
Â
Whether you are looking to travel full-time, or researching places to retire to, petsitting is a perfect way to explore a place or destinations for less money. Next year, our travels will be based on pet-sitting locations. Â
Â
As both pet owners and pet sitters, we love the win-win opportunities for each party involved and a way to enjoy slow travel economically around the world.
Get 25% off TrustedHousesitters Annual Memberships with code EE25!
Have you tried pet sitting using one of the above websites? Share your story with us!
