Female couple--responsible, experienced, good with pets

About this sitter

We are a pair of freelance editors and world travelers who enjoy experiencing new places and new cultures. After living for many years in Washington, DC, USA, we traded our settled life for one as full-time travelers.

Why they want to house sit

We enjoy traveling slowly and experiencing a place as the local residents do, not as tourists. Housesitting allows us to do that. It also lets us do other things we enjoy, such as cooking and gardening. We both love animals, but our nomadic life means that we cannot keep pets. So it is a pleasure to look after other people's animals for a while.

Their experience

Yes, we've done about a dozen housesits, some for friends and some found on this site or Trustedhousesitters.com. We've looked after cats, dogs, fish, horses, and gardens. We've housesat in the United States, Europe, Central America, and Southeast Asia for periods ranging from a week to four months.

What can they bring to the assignment

We have been homeowners ourselves, so we know how to keep a house clean and well maintained. We are also both animal lovers: We have served as a foster home for cats and kittens from local rescue organizations, and Melissa has worked as a veterinary technician, with experience monitoring the health of pets and giving medications. Chris is an enthusiastic gardener.

We are dependable, honest, quiet, respectful of your property, nonsmokers, non-drug-takers, and environmentally aware. We are also smart, friendly, and adaptable. We have international drivers’ licenses and clean driving records and have never been in trouble with the law. (Chris is a retired employee of the U.S. government and passed an FBI background check when she was hired.) We are experienced international travelers comfortable living in unfamiliar places and foreign cultures. We speak some French, German, and Spanish and a little Indonesian.