Sweet senior labradoodle seeks calm, attentive house-sitter over the holidays

About this assignment

This is a home-and-pet-sit exchange — free accommodation in exchange for Dobby's care, no monetary payment. The ideal house sitter is someone who is responsible and pays attention to details, especially when it comes to medication and general care of our dog, Dobby. They enjoy spending long periods of time nearby Dobby (i.e. same room or same floor) simply keeping her company. They are communicative with us and responsive if we reach out with a question or simply a check in to see how things are going.

What responsibilities are required of the house sitter

The house sitter will have the following responsibilities:
- Ensuring Dobby receives her medications every 12 hours.
- Walking Dobby twice daily for roughly 20-30 minutes each time.
- Putting out garbage and recycling bins as needed.
- Picking up poop on walks and in the backyard on a daily basis.
- Taking good care of our home (cleaning up after themselves, alerting us if something breaks/needs repair, ...)

What are the good features of the property and location

We have lived in this 1915 craftsman home for 26 years and it is a wonderful home and neighborhood. It is very cozy with a dual fuel heat source (heat pump and gas furnace). Our backyard is lovely and offers Dobby a place to roam a bit (and chase squirrels/birds).. You'd have the house to yourself during our trip.. You'd spend most of your time on the main floor of our home, complete with its own guest room and full bathroom, in a very walkable, bike-friendly inner Portland neighborhood — grocery store and restaurants a few blocks away, two bus lines nearby, easy rideshare access.

We would be reachable but out of town. We have wifi throughout the house and a washer/dryer in the basement you're welcome to use. We also have a well equipped kitchen.

December here is rainy but beautiful, with holiday lights throughout the neighborhood and the Zoo Lights event nearby. And the Columbia River Gorge is absolutely stunning any time of year.

What does the house sitter need to consider before applying for this assignment

Dobby suffers from separation anxiety and we have specific routines that we use to minimize this. We would expect the house sitter to employ these routines. We also would expect them to spend most of their time with Dobby, limiting their time away from them to no more than ~4 hours per day.

Can I bring my own pets?

No, sorry.

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