Rob

Over the course of the past 30 years I have provided house sitting services for many people including in Australia, England and the USA. Born in Australia, my first travel to the USA was at age 21 when a friend in Sydney invited me to attend a conference with him in Hawaii focused on various emerging computer technologies including the Internet. The invitation was due my already excellent technical skills in such areas.

A connection made at this conference led to a contract job in northern California, where I worked as the project manager of a private email system roll out for an organization with members all around the globe. This contract job was during the summer months of 1996 and so began my love of the Pacific Coast of north America. It was also during these months that I did one of my first notable house and pet sits, which included looking after a 200 pound English Mastiff for a number of weeks (he was an incredibly sweet guy too!).

Over the decade from 1996 to 2006 I worked as a computer professional in Sydney, London and northern California. Until the end of the 1990s I was based in Sydney, from 2000 to 2003 I was based in London, then from 2003 to early 2006 once again in Sydney. Over this decade I visited northern California periodically for work and leisure reasons, making perhaps five visits averaging about a month each in length during these years.

Due the nature of my lifestyle with moving back and forth between countries, I ended up doing quite a few periods of house sitting for a variety of people. Everything from taking care of an apartment and goldfish to looking after a several acre property with dogs, cats and chickens.

As a confirmed animal lover I have had both dog and cat (and chicken, and various other animal) friends over the course of my whole life since birth. So meeting and looking after new furry (and feathered, and even sometimes scaled) friends is always an enjoyment for me. Beyond these more common household animals I also have quite good experience with goats (feeding, general care and even milking) as well as some basic experience looking after cows and horses.

In 2006 I lived in northern California on a "working holiday" for nine months doing a variety of jobs including day labor on rural properties, as I wanted new experiences outside technical and office work. Over these months I did several house sits and also decided that I would like to return to live in California, which I did in late 2007. It was then that I applied for and gained my USA permanent residency (green card) and as part of that process I did of course have a full police and FBI check (I do not have a criminal record).

Over the past 16 or so years my life has involved regular travel back and forth between northern California and Australia. This is due me wanting to maintain strong connections to my family down under as well as my friends in both Australia and California. During these years I have provided house sitting services for numerous people on both sides of the Pacific.

When in northern California my main home since late 2007 has been a five acre property owned by friends (in rural Lake County) though I have chosen to also keep doing house sitting at various times. This is so that I can continue enjoying the new views and experiences provided by moving around to different towns and places.

In terms of reviews here on this site note that in the years since March 2020 I have done a number of sits, but these were all for personal friends and acquaintances. None of those people are registered on this site, hence no new reviews on here since 2019. However, my recent hosts have naturally been completely happy with my service (as always) and I can provide direct references for some of those sits if required.

As a house sitter my intention is to leave any place I stay in better condition than when I arrived. This includes ensuring that all is at least as clean and tidy as it was left for me, animals are fed and looked after with plenty of affection and attention, plus ensuring plants and gardens are well watered with any other chores properly attended to as needed. A simple summary is that I want the home and animals and plants all to feel really good when the folk whose home it is arrive back!

So if you would like a clean living animal lover with over 30 years of house sitting experience to look after your home and beloved animals while you are away then please do get in touch.