In the two years that we have been travelling, we have done almost a dozen house-sitting jobs, caring for someone’s home while they are away and, in most cases, caring for their pets and/or farm animals as well.
It is the epitome of win/win situations, where we (usually) get a house to live in, pets to play with, a garden to tend and the home-owner gets someone trustworthy to look after dogs/cats/fish/goats…or any other animals that need care. Having someone in the home also provides security during their absence, plus we are able to attend to any urgent maintenance problems that arise.
We take great pride in our house and pet-sitting service and have many glowing references (see below). We have current Police Checks, as well as current Working with Children’s Cards (which have an even higher screening process than, and also include, Police Checks).
Animals we have cared for include: dogs, cats, fish, birds, sheep, goats, alpacas, chooks, turkeys…and one miniature horse named Dominique. (After a recent bad experience, we prefer not to be on properties with domesticated kangaroos, but aside from that, we are pretty much up for anything!)
Dee grew up as a veterinarian’s daughter and has maintained a love for animals, domestic and wild, her whole life. Rod has lived on rural or bush properties for most of his adult life and so has great handyman skills and loads of common sense. He is quite an animal lover himself and animals respond really well to him.
If you want your pets to have full-time company and lots of attention, then we are just the ticket! Apart from day trips to explore the area or do some shopping, we are very happy to stay at home, editing photos on our computers, cooking, gardening and playing with your pets. We have a particular fondness for pets who love strokes, cuddles and play-time.
And we will look after your home and pets the way you want, we will follow your instructions with great care.
Reviews/References
Callington, South Australia 15th March to 25th September 2017
To Whom it Concerns,
It gives us great pleasure to recommend Rod and Dee Macdonald for future house-sitting work. Although we did not have any pets to care for, we did want someone there in our absence to look after our garden and for the security of our home and worldly possessions, as we were going to be away for over 5 months.
Rod and Dee were great caretakers, who obviously take pride in their house-sitting. They kept in contact with us regularly and even had to oversee the installation of a new hot water system when our old one malfunctioned. Thank goodness they were there and got straight on to it before any damage could be done to our home.
We arrived home, after nearly 6 months overseas, to an immaculate house, some crafty wall hangings made by Dee and a lovely welcome home letter. It made coming home that much more special.
We regret that these two won’t be readily available for our next trip, but wish them well in future endeavours.
Sincerely,
Geoff and Barbara Grant
Callington SA
Kendenup, Western Australia 25th September to 1st November, 2016
After quite a few offers from other house sitters, we met up with Rod and Dee and finally we felt comfortable enough to go off and have our much needed and long anticipated holiday. Not being naturally trusting and also being very private people, having someone stay in our home was uneasy and made us feel a little vulnerable. As it turned out we need not have worried.
Rod and Dee took to sheep farming with much common sense and a real roll your sleeves up and just get on with it approach and managed their way through some incidents that would have challenged many sheep farmers. Their communication to us was excellent and all the photos we received while away were both reassuring and thoughtful.
Our garden is quite big and does involve quite a lot of time to maintain, particularly during the spring months when the grass is growing like the clappers. Rod must love mowing and whipper snipping as we returned home to a better garden than what we left, it truly was a joy to return to.
Ellie our baby weaved her charm and managed to find the best surrogate parents possible. Rod and Dee and both dog lovers and she probably didn’t miss us at all!!!
It goes without saying that we would not hesitate at all to recommend Rod and Dee for anything that they felt comfortable and confident in tackling. They are both intelligent and motivated individuals with a huge list of skills, including but not limited to plenty of life skills. They are also pretty good company and we hope to be able to share a good meal and bottle of red with them one day in the future.
Little Grove, Western Australia – 15th September to 25th September, 2016
I was fortunate enough to secure the services of Dee and Rod during a very busy time of my life when I needed assistance with managing my property.
During their stay, Dee and Rod took care of my slightly neurotic Chihuahua and Ragdoll kitten (who had just come into heat for the first time). Thank goodness for their experience, patience and attentiveness. Not only did they love our pets as if they were their own, but also looked after my house and garden with such care that when I returned I felt relaxed and happy to be home. It was cleaner than when I left!
It is difficult to express the extent of my gratitude for the assistance Dee and Rod provided to me during a very tumultuous time in my life. I would not hesitate to recommend their services to anyone considering their suitability for house or farm sitting and sincerely hope our paths may cross again in the future.
Gina
Denmark, Western Australia – 27th July to 15th September, 2016
We appreciated that things were more than tough while you were here and admired the way you persevered. We will have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone else in need of your services as ‘house sitters’ and naturally we would be more than happy to speak to anyone to confirm our recommendation. You left our home in a clean and tidy state and felt welcomed home by your wonderful and thoughtful touches.
Bev and Ross
Harvey, Western Australia – 15th February to 15th March, 2016
I would recommend Rod and Dee to anyone. They looked after my home for a month and left it so clean and tidy, I didn’t want to use anything and mess it up. They even cleaned my car! I wish they were available to come again for my next trip.
I am very happy to be contacted for referral.
John
Kojonup, Western Australia – 11th January – 1st February 2016
Throughout January 2016 Rod and Dee house sat our property, 20 acres on the outskirts of Kojonup.
They had a large veggie garden to hand water, house plants to tend, and a large number of animals to care for.
We have 2 cats, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl and peacocks, deer, one sheep and 4 goats that needed milking daily.
They cared for the block with a huge amount of care and enthusiasm, they left the place far better than they found it!
Milking the goats is a skill and responsibility which is always one of our largest concerns when away, and often the reason we don’t go! The herding and handling of the animals, the milking itself, but also care of the milking machine and handling of the milk. But Rod and Dee were keen to ‘give it a go’ and really embraced the new task they were given.
We remained in touch with Rod and Dee though out the house sit which was very reassuring to know that all was well on a daily basis.
As an aside, Rod also worked for our business as a Driver and this also meant Rod and Dee camped at our place before and after the house sitting which has also been a great experience getting to know them, they have been so kind and generous to our kids and a pleasure and help as an influence on our block.
Bullsbrook, Western Australia – 14th December – 9th January 2016
We found Dee and Rod to be extremely personable and friendly, as well as thoughtful- they even gave us a ride to the airport! They did a great job looking after our dog, two cats, pool, and 20 acre property- we were away for over 3 weeks and it was lovely to come back to a house that was clean and tidy and pets that were happy and content. I can’t recommend them highly enough and would have them back in a heartbeat!
✓ Pets well cared for
✓ Followed instructions
✓ Home neat and clean
✓ Maintained garden
✓ Punctual
✓ Resourceful
Canning Vale, Western Australia – 10th – 20th November 2015
Loved coming home to a happy dog & clean home, along with a beautiful meal each time we arrived home. Thank you Rod & Dee for taking care of everything for us & in being so flexible.
✓ Pets well cared for
✓ Followed instructions
✓ Home neat and clean
✓ Maintained garden
✓ Punctual
✓ Resourceful
Carnarvon, Western Australia – 14th September – 6th October 2015
We met Dee and Rod through our neighbour next door. They were minding our neighbour’s property at that time, so Dee and Rod didn’t stay in our place. They were helping us for one week as we were away in Perth at that time. Both Dee and Rod are very reliable.
The house sitting duties carried out by Dee and Rod was;
- To feed our chickens and collect their eggs
- To feed our guineapigs
- To water the house garden
- To water the vegetable garden (both semi-auto reticulation).
I recommend for Dee and Rod to do your house sitting should you need one.
Alice Springs, Northern Territory – 1st June – 14th June 2015
Thank u so much 4 taking such good care of the house yard and bobby great to come home to a cleaner tidier place than I left and happy dog happy travels be glad 2 recommend u
Kay is happy to be contacted for reference
CONTACT US – Email is the best way to reach us initially, but are happy to communicate via phone, Skype, Messenger or to meet with you in person if we are in your area. You might even like to get to know a bit more about us by perusing the rest of our website.
Thanks for considering us, we look forward to hearing from you. We answer all genuine enquiries.