Trust & Reliability

About this sitter

Hi, I am Irina from Vienna/Austria. I’m a program manager/health coach/occasional writer and a single mother of two adult daughters (18 and 22). Traveling, often for extended periods, has been a steady part of my life from early childhood on. Having worked as a journalist and in humanitarian aid (managing health programs) I have lived on every continent, always thrilled to feel my way into new cultures and surroundings, to learn new languages, to meet new people and to “figure out how things work”.
We’ve always had cats and when possible (when we had a yard) also dogs, always rescues. I believe that children should grow up with pets and that being with animals is a natural part of a happy, fulfilled life. When we lived in India we pretty much ran an animal shelter taking care of street cats and dogs besides our rescues.
As my younger daughter only just graduated from high school I am still based in Vienna. This will change now that I am not bound to stay in one place anymore due to schooling.
I am a very dynamic, hands-on, active, curious, connected (I hope) woman who loves to learn and grow (I hope). Besides being a nature/ecology-freak, I don’t miss an art-museum , and am very interested in languages, architecture, anthropology, evolution, history, health, nutrition, alternative medicine, personal development and much more.
The photos of me show our current cat, our one-eyed pirate Jack and one of our previous cats as well my daughters.

Why they want to house sit

I feel that house/petsitting in exchange for accommodation is a great way of getting to know new people and new locations, of settling into a place more deeply. It elevates traveling, exploring new cultures and social interaction to another level really. The mutual trust and reliability it’s based on - between the two and four legged creatures involved - is a wonderful and ideal human trait that needs enforcement in today’s world. And sharing life with an animal is always a treasured bonus of course.

Their experience

I have taken care of houses and pets (organized through personal networks) in India, London, Mexico, Paris, Vienna, USA, Italy. I’ve also stayed a lot with Airbnb and can provide screenshots of the reviews I got. Vice versa we’ve rented out our apartment in Vienna while living in India and had people in our home in India stay to take car of our cats/dogs, so I’m also familiar with the reverse side: entrusting strangers with our most intimate surroundings and our pets. Whatever questions or doubts please do let me know, and I'll try my best to answer.

What can they bring to the assignment

An intrinsically deep level of respect for preferences/likings that differ from my own, reliability, trustworthiness, a hands-on active personality (very useful in emergencies and when doing out-of-habit-things), cleanliness and tidiness as a natural way of living. A high level of flexibility, a lifetime of traveling and adapting to/ living in different cultures, curiosity, love & respect for all creatures.