Skip to Content Skip to Sitemap

Sitter available

Retired professional British couple who love animals and travelling and combine the two

United Kingdom

Testimonials

They have 6 testimonial s (view below)

Pet experience

Dog(s), Cat(s), Horse/Donkey(s), Chicken(s), Bird(s), Fish, Rabbit(s), Tortoise/Turtle(s), Guinea pig(s), Pig(s), Goat(s), Farm animal(s), Other animal(s) – Yes we have a lifetime of experience with a variety of animals -dogs,cats,rabbits,hamsters, guinea pigs, pigs, cattle, birds,fish,ferrets and chickens.

Police check

They have a police check

Availability

From: 4 August 2022
Until: 30 March 2024

Occupation

Retired Director

References

They have referees/references (view below)

About this sitter

We are a professional non smoking couple who are retired We have house sat in various places inc Australia ,New Zealand, Europe,Turkey,Panama,Roatan,Belize,Brazil and USA. We are flexible and happy to take care of your animals and property as if they were our own and exactly how you would want them to be looked after.We are reliable ,trustworthy and committed and now have a UK police check.

Why they want to house sit

We just love all animals and birds and have had many of our own but our 3 old cats have died now so what better way than to take care of animals and experience living in other countries. We also feel it is a more rewarding time in a country than staying in hotels etc.We lived in rural France for 5 years so are experienced in living in country areas.

Their experience

We have house sat and looked after animals and can supply refs from those sits. We always put the animals first. People have been very pleased with how we have taken care of their animals and homes and have asked us to go back again. We stayed on a farm in the Hunter Valley in Australia and the owners were so happy that they let us stay in their other home in north Sydney. Their animals were 3 dogs, 3 cats, a ferret, a pet pig, 2 cockatiels and cows at the farm. My husband cut all the grounds and did other jobs that needed doing. The dogs were walked twice a day (which they didn't normally get).

What can they bring to the assignment

We like to keep busy with walking,gardening,reading and we have house sat in homes with pools so we know how to take care of them. We can water your indoor plants and outdoor plants as we have had to do that in many houses. Your house will be left as found or better as we like to leave clean all the areas we have been using.

Available to house sit

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Caribbean, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Availability dates

From: 4 August 2022
Until: 30 March 2024

Do they charge?

They don't charge for house sitting services

Membership

MindMyHouse member since 2009

Personal details

Age: 66-75 years old
Family status: Couple

Total sits

Total completed house sits: 8

Testimonials

Excellent cat sitters

This was our first experience of using Mind my House and we wanted experienced people and were definitely not disappointed. Ray and Irene are the loveliest, friendliest couple we could have hoped for. They were really helpful when our plans had to change due to my husband’s illness. Our 4 cats fell in love with them both and I’m sure one of them would have climbed in their case if she could. The house was super clean and tidy when we got back. I really hope they will be able to come again.

Lisa, Hungary, 26 October, 2022

  • Tidy
  • Organised
  • Good at pet care
  • Reliable
  • Kept in contact
  • Friendly
  • Good in the garden
  • Handy around the house

Competent and Caring

Ray and Irene are a lovely couple who were not daunted by my large family of cats and one dog. They communicated both before and during “ the sit” so that I felt reassured about leaving my fur kids with them for two weeks. As well as caring for my fur kids Ray did some much needed repairs around the house and garden. Irene was kindness itself with all fur kids and made sure they were comfortable. My home was respected and cleaned before they left. A big Thank You for your hard work and caring. I can add little to the wonderful reviews you have already.

Christine, Spain, 23 January, 2020

  • Tidy
  • Organised
  • Good at pet care
  • Reliable
  • Kept in contact
  • Friendly
  • Good in the garden
  • Handy around the house

Testimonial

Ray & Irene Maxwell are the perfect housesitters. A really lovely couple with a wealth of experience in housesitting and pet care. You couldn't wish for a more trustworthy couple and you can rest assured that whilst you're away everything will be taken care of beautifully and there will be no cause to worry. They did a superb job caring for our cats and chickens last year. We were very impressed and would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Julie & Mark, France, 06 January, 2019

  • Tidy
  • Organised
  • Good at pet care
  • Reliable
  • Kept in contact
  • Friendly
  • Good in the garden
  • Handy around the house

Highly recommended

Ray and Irene have just completed a three week stint looking after our house and cat. They did an excellent job looking after the house and cat . They coped very well with the difficult problem of a flooded kitchen.They are very capable, pleasant and interesting people and we enjoyed the two evenings we spent with them.

Janet, Spain, 19 November, 2018

  • Tidy
  • Organised
  • Good at pet care
  • Reliable
  • Kept in contact
  • Friendly
  • Handy around the house

Excellent sitters

We would recommend Ray and Irene without hesitation. They were very professional - conscientious and careful, keeping us in the picture at all times. They are obviously well travelled and used to dealing with all manner of contingencies - one of our dogs decided to have a brush with a porcupine during their stay, and they dealt admirably with the situation. As house guests, they leave a commendably small "footprint" in that they are obviously self-contained, do not make great demands on their hosts or the property, and leave everything just as they found it. We asked them to arrive a day or so early, and depart a day or so after our return, which they were willing to do. That gave us a chance to chat and to get to know them better - charming people with a wealth of experience and travel stories. And they were clearly in big demand, so they must be doing something right ! We would have no hesitation in having them again as house and dog sitters.

Joe, United Kingdom, 06 August, 2018

  • Tidy
  • Organised
  • Good at pet care
  • Reliable
  • Kept in contact
  • Friendly

Ray and Irene - welcome back any time!

Ray and Irene are a pair of softies - at least that's what my cats thought, and next door's dog. When I came home and it was time for them to leave, George Cat climbed on to Ray's lap and clung on as if to beg him not to go... I could have felt very jealous, but knew it a sign that the cats had felt loved and safe. Apart from that (the top priority) Irene and Ray were lovely to have around, and I think they really enjoyed the place and explored the area a bit. Ray is wonderfully practical and competent at all the things I'm useless at, so the house was cleaner and more repaired (!) than when I left it. A lovely couple, welcome here any time.

Arabella, Romania, 09 March, 2018

  • Tidy
  • Organised
  • Good at pet care
  • Reliable
  • Kept in contact
  • Friendly
  • Handy around the house

References

You need to be logged in to see this house sitters' references.

Last updated: 4 August 2022