Our friends thought we were nuts for entrusting our house and pets to a total stranger. But I believed in the goodness of people, and I did not want my dogs and cats to be caged for 2 weeks. Using a house-sitter made a lot of sense....but could we find the right one? And did we ever! "Auntie Jayne" was selected from several inquiries that we received from interested house-sitters. She ironically knew the area because she had a sister who lived about 1 mile away from me in the same sub-division. This was her first house-sitting job and she was nervous herself. The nearness to her sister made us both feel a little better about the arrangement of matching stranger to house...but in the end, it didn't matter because now "Auntie Jayne" is like family. She took perfect care of my house (read: it was cleaner when I got back from my trip than before I left) and the dogs and cats loved her! And she them.....we stay in touch by email so she can check up on how her "little buddies" are doing. I will definitely do this again with no reservations. And my friends are even considering it for themselves the next time they travel. A story with a happy ending for all involved.