Reliable, responsible retirees

More information about this house sitter

Hello!

We are Bruce and Jackie, a mature age, non-smoking British/American couple who lived in Australia for 30 years. On retirement, we bought a narrowboat in England intending to live aboard for a year. We became 'locked down' on it during covid, took to the lifestyle and have been exploring England's waterways for over five years.

We're now returning to Perth to look for another land-based home to purchase. We're seeking a longer-term sit in Perth so if you're thinking of escaping the antipodes for several weeks and need reliable, capable and active sitters, please get in touch.

We've been members of Trusted House Sitters for many years and have ten glowing references from our previous assignments in Spain, Sweden, Andorra and the UK. We've taken out this additional membership with MindAHome as there seem to be a greater number of Australian house-sitting opportunities.

We've owned dogs, rabbits and lizards and, following the death of our beloved dingo, we ran a dog boarding facility in our home in Australia for many years giving us experience with a wide variety of breeds. Our daughter is a vet working in a mixed practice and, whilst of course your pet's own vet would be your vet of choice, it may offer added peace of mind that professional advice is only a phone call away in an emergency situation.

We've always been home-owners in the USA and Australia and now we have five years' experience living off-grid. Bruce can fix and maintain absolutely anything with a minimum of fuss (although obviously only with the owner's consent!) and Jackie displays great attention to detail (meaning that all of your instructions will be meticulously followed).

Jackie formerly established and ran a successful home swapping agency and wrote 'the bible' on home swapping, "Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?" so knows a thing or two about looking after other people's homes. It should go without saying that we would treat your home as if it were our own and give your pets the best possible care.

REFERENCES
The following are references that we've received from home owners on another website. We'll soon be adding one more as we're dog-sitting at a Georgian property on an acreage over Christmas and the New Year too:

Julie - Stockholm, Sweden
17 - 31 Dec 2022
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Jackie, Bruce and their daughter came home for taking care of our lovely Nioki during the Christmas break and I couldn’t dream better sitter: they played a lot with her inside and outside and gave her tones of love. They were super clean and tidy and the communication has always been fluent. Thanks again for this and of course I recommend them for any pet sitting !

Peter - La Xara, Spain
14 - 20 Jul 2022
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Jackie and Bruce very kindly came to our apartment in Andorra to take care of Tiggy and Bytz our two rescue dogs. This was our second sit, and all was perfect yet again. I can not recommend Jackie and Bruce enough, a pleasure to be with, they loved our dogs, and the they leave the house better than they found it! If you get the chance, snap these guys up.

Angela - Andorra
2 - 7 Feb 2022
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What a pleasure to meet Jackie and Bruce. We were lucky to get to spend a couple of days together before we went on trip. The dogs loved them both. We came home to happy dogs and a lovely home cooked supper. I highly recommend Jackie and Bruce to you and your animals.

Elena - Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom
21 - 27 Dec 2021
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Jackie and Bruce were top-notch excellent house-sitters. They are easy to communicate with, caring and very able to take care of pets and houses! They are very highly recommended.

Judith - Wigston Magna, United Kingdom
1 - 5 Nov 2021
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If I could give Jackie and Bruce a 10 star rating I certainly would. They looked after Oscar with dedication during the Firework season as he just hates them and becomes a quivering wreck. He enjoyed lots of new walks and I couldn’t have asked for more, hope they will return as they are a joy to know. They also looked after my tropical fish and were pleased that they were all still alive on my return. The house was clean and tidy on my return and Oscar I am sure was missing them!. As I have said previously I hope they return. Judith Hickling

Richard - Waterbeach, United Kingdom
19 - 23 Apr 2021
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Jackie and Bruce were great housesitters. Really friendly, interesting people, they left the house in perfect condition, kept in touch and dealt very well with our dog who, due to aggression issues with other dogs, needed some focussed attention on walks. We really enjoyed our (online!) chats and wouldn't hesitate to use them again. Definitely recommend.

Rebecca – Barcelona, Spain
8 - 21 Feb 2020
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What a pleasure it was welcoming Jackie and Bruce into my home and into Archie's life. This was just such a great experience all around. I loved seeing the smile on Archie's face, in the photos that were regularly sent to me while I was away. He very much enjoyed their company and I felt relaxed that I had left him in great hands. They took such wonderful care of Archie - enjoying him as much as I do. Jackie and Bruce were such caring, honest, reliable and dependable house/pet sitters. Their communication was thorough and prompt. They left my house immaculately clean and tidy, which I appreciated. I would highly recommend them and have already asked if they would consider coming back again sometime in the future. If these two apply for your house sit, you needn't look any further. It feels good knowing that there are such nice people out there in the world and on this site. It is people like these that make this site such a success.

Michael - Caudete, Spain
30 Jan - 7 Feb 2020
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Jackie and Bruce have just finished a week's sitting at our home in Caudete. All was in order on our return, inside the house and outside. The dogs and chickens were relaxed and happy, what more could we ask for? They sent us a few pictures and messages while we were away, which really helped us to enjoy our break without worrying about home. I fully recommend Jackie and Bruce for any house sits in the future.

Steve and Natalie - Rugby, United Kingdom
22 - 28 Dec 2019
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We were just amazed at how Jackie and Bruce filled our boots so seamlessly leaving the house just as we left it, thank you so much. We were hugely grateful that they even left the lights on and curtains closed: everything just all felt very homely after our holiday which is lovely. You even fixed our broken the door handles! The dogs and chickens are all at least as happy as when we left them, if not happier! And it almost looked like you had not even been here, so tidy and clean was everything when we got back! We could not recommend Jackie and Bruce more highly and will definitely want to use them again!! Read more...