And on to the next sit
Goodbye Devon, hello Worcestershire
After two idyllic weeks in Devon, with a dog, two cats and five chickens, we have moved to Worcestershire for a week, to care for one dog and a house that is a work in progress.
Under construction
Unlike the thatched pink cottage that could have been on the front cover of Country Living, we are now looking after seventies built large detached in a village in between Bewdley and Droitwich Spa. We have been here before, for one night, back in September. The young couple who own it were planning their wedding and needed a last minute dog sit. The kitchen was finished, the bathroom wasn’t. This house is a major doer upper project.
A lot of progress has been made in the past six months, and we now have an almost complete bathroom, and a double aspect guest room. Fields are opposite the house and the garden is huge. This is their forever home and when it is finished it will be amazing. Not that it isn’t lovely now. With the tools stacked up in the utility room, the dining room awaiting plastering and the bath without taps. They saw the potential and have the energy and the vision to breathe new life into this dated house.
Wherever I have my teapot, that’s my home
It takes a day to adjust when you choose a peripatetic life. We move our bags in. Bring our housesitting kit, to make it feel more like our home away from home for the next week, day or month.
We don’t invade personal space, we do like our own tea and teapot. And our own wine glasses. It is a hybrid between staying in an impersonal airbnb and staying at a friends home for a few days. It takes time working out where to find the cutlery and the mugs.
The learning curve
Each sit is a different. New pets and their routines. Remembering where light switches are. Is it bin day? How does the TV work? What is the WiFi code?
Apart from the dog who wouldn’t turn left, and eventually refused to leave the house, we have not had a dog that has been problematic. I am convinced this dog had ADHD.
We cared for dogs with complex lives. The Greek Shepherd who would sit and not budge. It was full of shrapnel as had been target practice in a former life. A terrier who growled aggressively at us due to ill treatment in his past. The deaf/blind old girl with cancer. We knew she could die any day whilst we were in charge. All three, after a couple of days of love and care happily walked with us, showed affection and happily dozed through the day.
They can steal your heart
Do we have favourites? The adorable, gentle Border Collie in Somerset. The soppy Spaniel who melted our hearts and loved us to the moon and back. Yes, we do.
Being a house sitter is a lifestyle I love.