All about labors of love: global health equity & vulnerable patient advocacy, gardening & cooking, fostering & sitting for fur babies

About this sitter

I'm an early second-career physician and public health professional who'd much rather earn my keep contributing to humanitarian aid missions in the developing world than being a cog in America's broken corporate healthcare system. That's just me. When I'm not pitching in and playing my part on the global health frontlines, you'll find me enjoying the simple things in life: having meandering conversations with longtime friends, gardening, hiking, cookin' up an intimate dinner party, reading, beachcombing, and petting just about every canine/feline friend who crosses my path...

Why they want to house sit

While I love that my work takes me all around the world, there's still no place like (an actual, lived-in) home. Which is why I much prefer house-sitting over staying in AirBnBs/hotels/etc--especially whenever a sit includes some canine/feline companionship, and/or a few clucking hens or playful goats!

Their experience

I'm an animal lover and have experience caring for a variety of pets and farm animals: dogs, cats, rabbits/ferrets/etc, fish, turtles, lizards, birds, goats, sheep, pigs and, like any true Native Portland Oregonian, I do indeed know my way around a chicken coop! NB: Sorry, but I draw the line at snakes and beekeeping.

I'm happy to provide however many references you'd like who are specifically folks I've previously been a house- and pet-sitter for for varied durations of time (e.g. 1 week to 2 months) and with a variety of responsibilities: pet care, houseplants & gardening, and basic home maintenance.

What can they bring to the assignment

Good communcation, punctuality, self-sufficiency, and some special skills to boot! Because there's a lot of overlap between veterinary and human medicine, and I've got plenty of experience with medically-complicated fosters, which means that I've actually got pretty good clinical judgement when it comes to mammalian pets. So, you can rest assured that, if your beloved dog(s)/cat(s) were to develop/sustain any sort of illness/injury while you're away, I'll necessarily notice whatever their new/exacerbating signs & symptoms are, and be able to triage their need for veterinary care.

I'm also an avid home gardener, so you can likewise count on me to not only keep your plants watered but also thriving vis-a-vis (re)staking/pest management/harvesting fruits & vegetables, adjusting irrigation systems & hand-watering as needed, maintenance weeding and etc.