Adventurous, positive, young at heart, retired, fully vaccinated experienced English couple looking for pet/house sitting in Europe. Please ignore the number of sits below...we have taken 30+ sits over 10 years..

About this sitter

Hi, the newly introduced "number of sits completed" that has been added to the site is for some reason showing us as having only completed two sits before 2020. We have actually completed at least 15 times that many in the 10 years we have been with this site. I don't seem to be able to rectify this so, if you would be so kind, PLEASE read on...
We are Maggie and Terry a now dogless (sadly Ernie passed in 2022) retired couple living in Matlock. We moved here recently after 13 years living in a caravan on a working farm in the Peak District. Prior to that we lived in Sheffield. We like; animals, somatic movement (Maggie), music, reading, boats, walking, films, gardening, cooking, eating and traveling.
Owing to brexit and the situation with covid we have had a change of lifestyle. For the many years we spent the summer months in the UK and winter housesitting in mainland Europe. It was fantastic. We have now decided to move back into a house.
We travel overland by car towing a small caravan.
We are non smokers.
We are fully vaccinated.

Why they want to house sit

As an idea it really appeals to us... a reciprocal arrangement where we all feel we benefit. As housesitters we get to experience much more than we could expect from the usual "tourist"stay... not that there is anything wrong with being a tourist we all are or have been. As for the homeowners, we hope they get the security of knowing their their pets will be loved and their houses and gardens cared for. It has become a way of life.

Their experience

We thought it might be a good idea to give a brief precis of our sits "up front" then, if you would like to, you can read on...
Summer 2011 Derbyshire. Farm house. Dog, chickens, ducks. Campsite. (Twice)
October 2011 Portugal, Alentejo. Remote finca. Dog, cats. 6 weeks.
Christmas / New year 2011, Estepona, Andalucia. Apartment. Dog, cat. 2 weeks.
January 2012. Alpujarras, Andalucia. Remote finca. 4 dogs, cat, chickens, 2 horses. 2 months.
March 2012. Alpujarras, Andalucia. Farmhouse. 3 dogs, cat, pot bellied pig. 1 month.
Summer 2012.
June. Norwich. Dog. 3 weeks.
July. Derbyshire. Farmhouse. chickens, ducks. Campsite.
August. Derbyshire. Dog. 10 days. (At home).
November 2012. Alpujarras, Andalucia. Repeat from last year but with one extra dog, cat and horse. 3 weeks.
Nov/Dec 2012. Mojacar, Andalucia. Cat. 3 weeks.
Christmas/New year 2012. Estepona, repeat from last year with one extra cat. 2 weeks.
January/ February 2013. Cerralba (Nr. Malaga) Finca. 4 dogs, 2 cats, 3 horses. 2 months.
March 2013. Estepona (as above). 3 weeks.
May. At home. Dog. (Tia). 10 days.
May. Derbyshire. Farm/campsite. Dog,(Bella) ducks(ducklings) chickens(chicks).2 weeks.
June. Norwich. Dog 1 week (then brought "Brazen" Bridie to Derbyshire for a week in the country).
December 2013:
Las Alpujarras; 2 horses, 5 dogs, 2 cats, 2 chickens.
Estepona; 1 dog, 2 cats.
January 2014 until May; Mojacar; 1 cat ( we also looked after a 3 horses for a nearby couple ).
June:
Norwich; 3 days, Bridie the saluki.
November 2014: Brighton UK. 1 month; Merlin the dog, Cleo and Ben the cats and approximately 20 tanks of tropical fish.

Christmas & New Year 2014/15: Ronda, Andalucia, Spain. 3 weeks. Tokai & Kismet the dogs, Second the
cat.
January to March 2015: Mojacar, Andalucia. Billi the cat.
February to March 2015: Tabernas, Andalucia. Otis the dog and Billa the cat. (we did a split sit here with Maggie staying in Mojacar and me in Tabernas).
March 2015: Alpujarras, Andalucia... Los Plumas; dogs/cats/chickens/horses.

December 2015. Mojacar, Billi the cat.
Xmas and New Year.2015/16 Mojacar pueblo. No animals.
January 2016 through to March. Gergal, Andalucia. No animals.
March 2016. Tabernas. Billah and Otis.
June 2016. Derbyshire. Blossom.

November 2016 (through to January 6th 2017) Montroy, Valencia. 4 dogs.
January to February 2017 Contraviesa Las Alpujarras, Spain. 2 dogs 3 cats.
February to March 24th 2017. Figuiera Dos Vinhos, Portugal. 2 dogs.
November 2017 to January 2018.
Los Pinos, Bedar Andalucia.
Two dogs.
From 23 January 2018 until early March... Tarifa... no animals.
November/ December 2018 Mojacar... no animals.
Christmas 2018 Mojacar Pueblo, one dog.
January 2019 Mojacar la huerta 3 dogs.
February/ March 2019 Mojacar, no animals.
December to January 2019/20. Aegina, Greece. 2 dogs.
January to March 2020. Aegina, Greece. No animals.
January 2022. Bridport, Dorset, UK. One dog. 3 weeks.
April 2023 Launceston, Cornwall. One dog, two cats, twenty six chickens.
We look after a few dogs on a regular basis at home...Miley, Archie and Meg.
September 2013...It's the weekend and we're happy to have Miley with us for a few days...such a cuddly girl.

Over the years we have had a wealth of experience in the world of work. Including; working in a painting and decorating/general maintenance co-op (both, where we met), gardening (Tes), ambulance driving followed by qualified nursing (Maggie), cooking (both), in fact Tes helped a couple of friends prepare and open Sheffield's only vegetarian restaurant in the late 90's. Our most recent venture (2000) was Houseboat Hotels;(we owned a 50' narrowboat for three years, previously our home of two years); two luxury houseboats, Lily May & Ruby which we completely refitted and then launched as the UK's only city centre narrowboat accommodation. We retired in 2008. If you go to www.houseboathotels.com you can see how the business is progressing.
For the summer of 2011 Maggie was the Sunday assistant manager of the air ambulance charity shop in Bakewell. I was her volunteer.
As for house sitting: 2011/2012
Maggie has sat a farmhouse in rural Derbyshire looking after Poppy the lovely Saluki and accompanying chickens and ducks. Maggie also kept an eye on the attached campsite, taking money and giving advice. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable experience. In September 2011 we both had another few day house sit up at the farm looking after the chickens, ducks and campsite... great fun.
In early November we stayed in the Alentejo in Southern Portugal in a VERY isolated farmhouse for six weeks. Water from a borehole, solar power, situated down a rather "rugged" four kilometre track with the nearest neighbours a 15 to 20 minute walk away and the nearest village an hour's walk or a tortuous 15 minute drive. Marvellous. We had the comely Bonnie (alsation cross) to look after us and the "companionship" of 10 semi-feral cats, not to mention the toads, geckos and stars.
We moved on from there just before Xmas to stay in a beautiful apartment in Estepona, coastal southern Spain (what a contrast) where we were entertained by the cheeky chap Bobby (poodle) and his antics with the truly crazy kitten Lily. We were here for two gloriously sunny weeks.
Next it was up into the Alpujarras for three months: two months at the first house sit, near Castaras where it was,again, four kilometres DOWN a track that we have only just recovered from (ski slope comes to mind); solar power, water from a spring, a pack of four wonderful dogs Sierra, Ginnie, Ezzy & Barnie (occasionally the visiting Toby) Paddy ( a cat who likes the "ladies") Chuck and Larry the chickens and last but definitely not least the dynamic duo two magnificent Andalucian horses, Sombra and Toro. The dogs here had an assortment of medical conditions ranging from the monitoring of ongoing chronic conditions to alleviating the symptoms of acute conditions.
Thanks A & A for believing in us.
Our final housesit for this trip lasted a month and was a little nearer Orgiva, again rural on a 2 kilometre track, only bumpy this time, sharing with another lovely little pack of spanish style goat dogs, Mama, Tiki and Enrique a proper family. Also Kibou the hungry and beautiful cat. Not forgetting the charismatic Lulu a Vietnamese pot bellied pig.

Again, THANKS to all the homeowners... hope we did a good job.
September 2012... Keeping things up to date... back at the farm up the road for a two week spell, sadly the lovely Poppy is no longer with us so it was up to the ducks and chickens to cheer us up. A little more gardening was undertaken by Tes this time and the campsite was busy in the lovely late summer weather. We both look forward to the arrival of Bella the Saluki who we hope to be looking after when, we hope we come up here again.
At home again now and we are looking after the delightful Blossom the whippet, jack russell cross whilst her owner recovers from a knee operation.
Only a few more weeks and it's off to the European mainland... doesn't time FLY!!
November 2012:
Well, here we are in the fabulous, if a little wet at present, Alpujarras. When it stops it's a lesson in horse hoof trimming. So we must be at Los Plumas again with the ever expanding contingent of four legged residents. Here for three weeks then all being well off to Mojacar for an ailing cat. Next returning again to Estepona for Bobby, Lily and Bella over xmas and New Year. Then up into the hills above Malaga to sit three horses four dogs and two cats.
Sounds good to us.
March 2013.
So, it's Spring again even if the weather is telling us it's not and after two months in the campo west of Malaga we are in Estepona again at a last minute sit with Bobby, Bella and Lily. Something of a change
in lifestyle after caring for Lorie, Felix and Florin the equine family and their tormentors, Rex, Tito, Caro and Perri the boisterous dogs not to forget the cats David and Dante. Rural, rugged but ultimately satisfying.
A quick ten day break travelling in the north of Morocco, wet but wonderful if a little wacky... before
a final three week sit back in Estepona looking after Bobby, Bella & Lily, before setting off for home in mid-April.
So, here we are back in beautiful Derbyshire and enjoying this wonderful English Summer...

Autumn 2013...
Off again in mid november to visit friends in Mojacar before returning to LP in the Alpujarras, Andalucia for a 10 day sit and a little more horse riding tuition.
Christmas saw us in Estepona for our now traditional Christmas sit. Incredibly sadly our last owing to the sudden tragic death of our lovely homeowner in February. She will be greatly missed.
We spent the rest of our winter abroad in Mojacar, Andalucia looking after Billie, from January to May 2014. We also helped care for 3 horses for a neighbour whose illness prevented her from giving her precious trio all the care and attention they were accustomed to. Barbara Napier, an absolutely remarkable woman; R.I.P.
Home again to a somewhat chilly but verdant Peak District.

In for a penny... so she's not a greyhound but a Lurcher and she is gorgeous; Ok she has a few issues, don't we all. Such a loving dog. She visited with us for 4 months or so and is now back with the amazing Jo at GRSY. We were also able to, in a little break from Susie, have Blossom ( whippet/jack russell cross!!) round for 10 days, gloriously fun little dog.
November comes around so quickly and after packing up both caravans it's off to not so sunny but thoroughly entertaining Brighton (Hove actually) where we had a month in the presence of Merlin, who introduced us to the delights of Hove Park and it's myriad activities and vast array of four legged visitors; the Causeway and, of course, Hove seafront. Cleo n Ben gave an in depth insight into the art of relaxing on the sofa, very zen. The tropical fish here ( species in danger of extinction in the wild, so being bred to keep world stocks alive and available) were an education. Fascinating. More to this fish keeping lark than meets the eye. Many thanks to Clive for the info. and instruction.
As the days grew wetter and so, so dark and so,so short.... we were off to Spain.
A week to 10 days in the company of the generous and loving Dany and then...
Ronda, Tokay and Kismet kept us company and provided all the exercise we needed and cat number two hung out with us on occasion. Lovely critters in a beautiful part of Spain.
Back to Dany's house to look after Billi... do a little gardening/construction and generally enjoy the sun and catch up with friends in and around Mojacar.
For the first time we "split" a sit with Maggie staying in Mojacar and me going into the desert of Tabernas to look after Otis and Billa... FAB; Maggie was afforded weekend visiting rights with Maria taking over the care of Billi for a day or two. Thanks Maria.
As of now March 20th, 2015... back in Las Alpujarras with human and animal friends alike.... a bit like being at home...
April... back in our green valley and fostering Ernie the ex racing greyhound ans he's doing very well...
Here comes an unexpected change to our lifestyle...
JULY 2015... After fostering the lovely Ernie for two months we decided that he was the dog for us (I hope he feels we are the humans for him) and he now is a member of the family
This means that he comes away with us in winter. SO, we now can only sit where owners pets are welcome. Ernie is extremely laid back and very friendly with both other dogs and humans. Not intrusive though, he respects others space. He's fine with horses, cows/cattle, sheep and ducks/hens, although he is kept on the lead. Even rabbits he doesn't seem too bothered with. Cats are a critter we need to get him used to.
Two of our sits this year have been with cats and there has been no problem although we have had to manage the situation carefully.
As time passes we and him are getting to know each other and trust each other and he is quite a remarkable boy.
Everything is possible.
Well what do you know... Summer 2016 has flashed by and we find ourselves in, not so sunny, Spain, again.
During the summer we had the honour of surrogate parenting Stanley the thoroughly lovely saluki lurcher. What a fabulous boy. After his time with us in rural Derbyshire he moved in with his permanent family the lovely Steve, Julie, Milo, Bertie and their extended family. Lucky Boy.
Here in an uncharacteristically wet and cold Valencia (can't but will complain) we are competing for space in front of the wood burner with the "little slippers" Devon and Marley and the ever energetic Chip and Dylan. Our own Ernie seems to be completely at home!
If all goes according to plan we should be here until January (after a visit to Decathalon for boots and waterproofs!)
Well it did stop raining and el sol showed its lovely face. So we left the characterful hounds behind and spent a snowy and cold 4 weeks with the remarkable Seamus and fun loving Bella high in the hills of the Alpujarras.
Now we are in Portugal near Coimbra with sweet Borlotti and energetic Jules... rain again. He he. Should be heading homeward after this via some of the beautiful cities and countryside of this fabulous country.
The Missus is telling me l'm using too many adjectives... l know l use lovely far too often so from now on...
Lovely, lovely, lovely...
another summer of well dressing and dodging the showers (downpours!) flashes by and with two days to go before we leave for mainland Europe I'm thinking we should be a little more ready... not to worry we haven't missed a ferry, YET...
Fostered two quite beautiful greyhounds ... Bluebell & Darcy... for GRSY (Greyhound rescue south yorkshire) SO hard to give them up... we'd have a houseful if we could...
We have a sit for Xmas in the Sierra Cabreras, Almeria but after that we are still available. We'll take some time out to visit friends in and around the Mojacar area.
Well... another 7 weeks flown by and have found it hard to leave Los Pinos, Buddy and Paddy but we must as l don't think S n J want permanent guests, hospitable as they are...
Next stop Tarifa... yes, we know, it's windy...
Well it's windy here in Mojacar on this December night but the weather has been almost as good as that fabulous English summer we just had... another summer that just flew by... must be our age!!. We had the great pleasure of fostering both Pippa and Bertie two beautiful greyhounds from GRSY both of whom are now in permanent homes.
So now it's mainland Europe again( while we still can... don't mention brexit) and in Mojacar. At our friends house just looking after things for a while until xmas when we will move up to the pueblo to sit J's house and look after the lovely Lulu a podenco cross. Then it's back to D's to housesit for the rest of the winter... maybe next time...
Another Summer gone and this year, 2019, we thought we might stay in the UK. However, after a sit down south failed to materialise and winter crept towards us we applied for a sit in Greece. This, owing to family circumstances was also cancelled. But as we had put a lot of effort into planning our road trip along the Dalmation coast we decided to go ahead and meander our way slowly south with Greece being our probable final destination. As we left Calais on our first morning we were contacted and the sit was on again. So off we headed to Aegina a small island just off Athens. Three weeks later we arrived after a truly eye opening trip along the fabulous coastlines of Slovenia, Croatia, a sliver of Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania.
Ferry to the island and 3 weeks with Leida, a very self possesed little lady and the delightful but shy boy Scooby. The home owners were both lovely, off the wall, good fun and very interesting people. A nice time all round.
Then, with the help of the previous homeowner we took on a caretaking role for a house that was up for sale in Vagia to the north of the island. A lot of gardening and some general housework with plenty of beautiful walks thrown in saw a couple of months rapidly go by. Then it was a nervous and slightly more rushed than we would have liked, drive back through eastern europe as borders closed behind us and ferries were cancelled owing to corona virus. We made it just in time for lock down. Ha. But in these most unusual of times you just have to be happy to be healthy. After over eight months we finally had a lovely pint in a beer garden only yesterday... simple pleasures. We had the pleasure of fostering Amy a 2 year old greyhound for a few months so that took our mind off lockdown.
So,this year (2021) if the virus AND brexit allows, maybe we'll see you...
Blimey, 2022 already but finally a sit gets off the ground after 3 or so were cancelled owing to the ever moving goalposts of covid.
Three glorious weeks in Bridport with the sprightly 14 year old Obi...a dog who knows his own mind. Great to be back in the sadfle, so to speak. Here's hoping for some more sits this year...
April 2023...Launceston, Cornwall. 3 weeks looking after Scarla, Sooty and Bella. A boisterous dog and the slightly more cautious cats...we got there in the end and spent lovely evenings all cuddled together on the sofa in front of the log burner watching the snooker. Lovely. Don't forget the chickens...l do like their company and spent many happy hours cleaning up after them...happy days.
Of course we have had the pleasure of having as houseguests Miley, Meg and Archie on numerous occasions...in fact Miley is coming for a sleepover tomorrow.


 

 

What can they bring to the assignment

Experience

We are experienced, positive, enthusiastic, practical, reliable, enterprising, adventurous, self-sufficient but sociable, trustworthy, willing and flexible. We like to think so anyway. 

We drive to our sits so have our own transport.

We can be flexible with dates for our house sitting availability.

We can be flexible with the areas in which we  can pet/house sit. 

We can provide references from our house sits.