Has anyone experience of Homesitters/pet sitters-advise please?

I am looking for a few weeks house sitting or pet sitting on the south coast, are there any 'free' house sitter web sites that you know of and recomend - my thanks for repliesHas anyone experience of Homesitters/pet sitters-advise please?
I would not use anybody who claims to be free. You get what you pay for!! In California, in-home pet care runs $35-40 per overnight. Periodic checking is about $20 a day as is taking the pets to their house. Or you can look into boarding facitities (my least favorite choice).


Good luck. It isn't easy. Now that I have 3 dogs, I am pretty much resigned to staying home.


-MMHas anyone experience of Homesitters/pet sitters-advise please?
try Spain its much warmer
The only website i know of is the NARP one (national association of registered petsitters) not sure of the address but just type in NARP and you will get it, im not sure if they are free but they are the best agency around as they do criminal record checks etc.
i used to house sitt try getting a relative or a good neighbor to watch the house and take care of the pets and just check in on them. i would be more than happy to do it but i live in ohio. so thats not helping you. if you have a younger relative maybe they can sttay at the house till you get home
I used the services of a profession pet sitter for many years. It was a very sucessful arrangement. Try asking other locally if any of your neighbours use one. Word of mouth is the best recommendation.
I used one homesitter/pet sitter many years ago. It was a couple with a baby they were left with instructions not to let my Great Dane off the lead but they did and spent hours sitting waiting for him to come back. That was funny, they were warned. The woman wore my clothes and the baby was sick on my favourite jumper, never did get the smell out. I don't think I'd do it again, now we take the pets with us on holiday and ask a neighbour to keep an eye on the house.
I would recommend talking to your vet or friends who have animals. I work for a vet and we frequently get requests for pet sitting. The technicians are often comfortable with animals and have access to care in case any should be required. Most of the people I work with are students or just getting out of school and are usually looking for extra money. Your friends who have pets or animals are also another good resouce for who they are comfortable with or have used before. Best of luck!