Seasoned travellers and experienced pet owners. Responsible, dependable young(ish!) retired couple looking to keep travelling worldwide

About this sitter

My husband John Oxenham has just retired from British Airways after 40 years of flying, 22 of which were as a Captain. I retired 4 and a half years ago from my job working for HM Revenue & Customs to travel full time with my husband. We both have a love of travel and animals, we enjoy visiting new places and exploring different cultures and cuisines. We have both had pets before and know the joys of having animals and we are now looking to give our love and care to your pets whilst maintaining our love of travel. We are both fully aware that the more time you spend with them the more beneficial it is for both. We are both non smokers and will maintain your property as if it were our own, my husband has spent many months restoring our thatched property which dates back to 1740 (happy to supply photos on request) so he is very proactive and more than happy to fix problems as they arise and do any odd jobs that come up plus he loves chopping wood! We are both excellent gardeners and are happy to tend to your garden and look after any plants. We have travelled extensively, not only for my husband’s work but also for our pleasure, please take a look at our Instagram page Samox24 to give you some background on us. We are now looking forward to starting a new adventure by combining our love of travel and animals, house sitting has been our intention all along upon retirement and we are very excited for our future. We are happy to travel literally anywhere worldwide, both holding and keeping up to date with relevant visas.

Why they want to house sit

For the last four and a half years I have travelled full time with my husband worldwide as he flew the Boeing777 to every continent in the world. Although this was great fun we were somewhat limited to the time we could spend in these places as his first commitment was to his job. That meant that we enjoyed as much as we could of these locations but only scratched the surface in the limited time available to us. House sitting would give us an opportunity to relax and spend time in a more homelike environment caring for your pets and property and allowing us to embed ourselves more in the local culture, something that we really look forward to doing.

Their experience

John spent his school summer holidays working on his uncles farm caring for chickens, pigs, cattle and sheep. We have both had numerous domestic pets, my husband has had Golden Retrievers and cats and I grew up with German Shepherds right in to my thirties. I have also had Ragdoll and Maine Coon cats, a Labrador, ducks, chickens, Koi carp, tropical fish, chipmunks, various birds, rabbits, tortoises and guinea pigs. I also grew up riding horses so have plenty of experience caring for them. We will maintain your property as if it were our own. John is very accomplished at house maintenance, renovation and redecoration, both John and I are keen gardeners. Although this is a new adventure for us and we are completely new to house sitting we are not shy of responsibility. John was a senior Captain within British Airways, responsible for the safety, care and wellbeing of his passengers and crew and has dealt with unforeseen circumstances and emergencies. Whilst travelling with him I spoke to many of his co-pilots who commented that he instilled a calm and relaxed atmosphere whilst maintaining his position of authority which made it a pleasure to fly with him. I myself was a tax recovery officer for HM Revenue & Customs, as such I had to sign the Official Secrets Act so I am fully aware of responsibility myself.
John and I both hold full UK driving licences and have often rented cars in various locations worldwide, from North to South America, Costa Rica and South Africa to name but a few. We are well versed in driving on the wrong side of the road and driving to remote locations, often along dirt tracks.
We both have UK DBS (criminal background checks) certificates and we have visas for a majority of countries in the world and will be happy to obtain others as required. We would be more than happy to arrange our arrival a few days prior to the date required or before this if necessary such that we can all meet and you can be assured that we are who we say we are and you can advise us of any requirements and rest comfortably knowing that we are on hand to start house sitting on the appropriate date.

What can they bring to the assignment

We bring an understanding that your property and your pets will be cared for as you yourselves would care for them. We are enthusiastic, flexible, dependable and willing to travel anywhere worldwide. We have a strong knowledge of pet care and we are fully aware of the responsibility of looking after someone else’s property. We will be proactive in dealing with any eventualities that arise with the wellbeing of any pets or any issues that arise with your property.