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Loving couple makes holidays carefree!

ID: f2g

Name:

Kate & Maarten

Status:

Couple

Age group:

26 to 35

Profession:

Lawyers on a sabbatical

Years active:

1 year

Preferred locations:

NSW (full regions list)

Reply rating:

5 out of 5

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More information about this house sitter

--> INTRODUCTION


We (Katelijne & Maarten) are a Belgian couple, married and both 32. We both worked as lawyers and legal consultants the past few years, but decided to take a sabbatical to travel and to figure out where we would like to spend the rest of our lives together and where we would like to start a family.

We are flexible both in locations as in dates. We can also swing by a little bit earlier to get to know your pets and their habits while you are still around. If you would like to Skype to get to know us, just let us know.


--> WHY WE WANT TO HOUSESIT


We are currently on a sabbatical: travelling and looking into places we would like to spend the rest of our lives. We would like to explore different places while having a normal lifestyle and living as a local, which means having a house and pets. We miss having pets while we are on the road, and we also love spending some time at "home" while travelling. House sitting is therefore the best fit for us. We also use our housesitting time to do some writing, so we are around a lot.


--> WHAT WE BRING TO THE ASSIGNMENT / RELEVANT EXPERIENCE


*** Experience in House/petsitting?


While travelling, we have done 5 previous house - & petsits. We have done our first housesit in Hong Kong in December 2014 for a British couple and we cared for their lovely sausage dog Poppy, a rescue dog. in March 2016, we cared for their lovely dog again. In april 2015, we also did a housesit for 3 weeks on a farm in Albury, Australia and took care of 2 dogs (1 Golden Retriever, 1 Jack Russell), again a great experience. During summer 2015 we cared for a little Jack Russell called Zoë in Barcelona (2 weeks). She was a sick and elderly dog, and needed lots of care, which we were happy to provide while the American homeowners were out of town. In December 2015 we did a housesit in New York and cared for the little cute ball of energy, Percy. It was a great way to spend the holidays walking the little dog in the streets of New York. You can read our references beneath our profile.


*** Previous experience with pets?


The last couple of years, we did not have pets of our own, because we have been travelling. However, we both had numerous pets growing up and both miss their company while on the road. Therefore, we have done several successful housesits where we loved spoiling the pets.

Katelijne cared for numerous cats, chickens, fish, rabbits, and even stick insects. Kate has a lot of experience with cats, and Maarten has a lot of experience with dogs, since he has had dogs all of his life. At Maartens house, they also kept several birds (even peacocks and cockatoo), cats, guinea pigs, and a variety of other animals (up to small farm animals). If you want to give your dog some training, Maarten is your man.


--> WHY WE ARE GOOD HOUSE - AND PETSITTERS ?


We both love pets and walks, so caring for your pets will be our pleasure.

We were both raised in a semi-rural area and both have worked in large gardens at home, but spend the last 5 years in the very city center of Brussels, the capital of Europe, or travelling.

We also have experience in taking care of old animals, rescue dogs and animals that need medical or special care. (We both have a first aid degree, and were raised in medical and animal loving families).

We are responsible, trustworthy, hands-on and know how to solve a problem. We will keep your home clean, tidy and well-maintained. We are good communicators in case something needs to be done. We will keep you up to date regularly while you are on a holiday! We are non-smokers.

We were raised to have respect for other people, animals and cultures, so you can rest assured that we will treat your home and pets as our own.


--> REFERENCES
TrustedHousesitters Homeowner References


***12 January 2016 | Hoboken, NJ, United States
Rosie
Kate & Maarten stayed at our apartment in Hoboken and cared for our dog, Percy, for a week over Christmas and New Year's. They were such a great find - I can't believe how lucky we were! Kate and Maarten were great with communication before their arrival. On the day they got here, we were around packing and getting ready for our trip. They spent some time getting to know Percy and took him for a walk - he immediately loved them. While we were gone, Kate sent me photos of their long walks and some of the little treats and toys they got for Percy. He had such a lovely week, he seemed sad to say goodbye to them at the end of their stay. After a long flight, we came home to a sparkling clean apartment and a very happy and well-cared for puppy. Couldn't ask for more. I whole heartedly recommend Kate and Maarten as house and pet sitters - they are truly a delight! ***


***17 August 2015 | Barcelona, Spain
Steven
Steven and I were recently planning to leave our flat in Barcelona to go watch a friend’s cats in Bologna, IT. Unfortunately, a few days before we were to leave, our 16-year-old dog Zoë became ill. While she was only exhibiting minor symptoms, the vet informed us of the probability of a hospital stay in the event her health took a turn for the worse.

With this info, we knew one of us had to stay, and one of us had to honor the commitment to petsit for our friend. Our pet-sitters Maarten and Kate had already arrived from Belgium 2 days prior to beginning their stay in our home. What to do? Buy their return tickets home early? Share the flat in the and see how Zoë was in a few days?

Fortunately, we had an opportunity to speak with Kate and Maarten about the situation before we had to leave. We explained all our concerns and various options, to which they said they would understand and respect any of our choices. But, they also stressed that they were happy to follow-through with caring for Zoë, knowing this meant administering medications, potential visits to the vets and any other special needs required. Their concern was also as much for our comfort in being away as it was for our dog's health.

The night before we were to leave, Zoë seemed stable and even happy for the attention from her new caretakers. The next morning we hopped on the plane with the hope of not having to return early. Our prayers were answered by the extraordinary care and attention given by these two. Knowing we were worried about her, they assuaged our fears by sending photos, videos and updates as to her status. Kate also discovered Zoe's unusual willingness to be spoon fed, despite a lack of appetite, which I continue today. And to top it off, our flat was immaculate when we returned. We just cannot say enough good things about these two.***


***08 January 2015 | Sai Kung, Hong Kong
Liz
Katelijne and Maarten were the perfect house sitters. They are a very honest and trust worthy couple. Our house was immaculate when we returned and they kept in regular contact with us. They cared for our dog as if she was their own and they even taught her some new tricks. We would have no hesitation what so ever in recommending Katelijne and Maarten as house sitters and only wish we could sore them higher than a 5.***


***18 August 2015 / New South Wales, Australia
Tanya
Kate and Maarten where absolutely fabulous house sitters and we would highly recommend them to anyone who is considering going away for any length of time. This was the first time we'd had a sitter and we were a little nervous about the idea to begin with. We need not have been, our home and garden was beautifully kept, our privacy was respected and our two dogs were so spoilt I'm sure they didn't want Kate and Maarten to leave. We could not have asked for anything more, they completely exceeded our expectations and we wouldn't hesitate in asking them to sit again in the future.
Kind regards,
T,T&B***
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