A Positive Housesitting Experience - in England

As our subscribers might remember, I sent a query out in one of last week’s email broadcasts on behalf of a New York Times reporter who was seeking stories about housesitting mishaps. The Caretaker Gazette was not cited and the stories included by our subscribers were not included in article when it was printed in the New York Times This is unfortunate because the stories that the reporter chose to include were negative in tone. This contrasts with the many positive experiences that I hear everyday from our subscribers, both property owners and housesitters, who are very happy with their housesitting arrangements. Here is an excerpt from one such positive story that recently ran in the Gazette:

It was October 9, 2006, and the November/ December issue of The Caretaker Gazette was just made available on the Internet. I was looking at hours of just reading and enjoying the latest Gazette. It was going to be a very, very nice day!! An hour later my first email was on its way. In the South of England a dog/cat-sitter was required over Christmas. For years now I promised myself one Christmas where there would be no obligations, no guests, no dinner parties etc. Instead there would be only me and the BBC. One Christmas where I would be able to watch all the fabulous programs they show during the festive season. All of a sudden there was a distinct possibility this was going to be the year! A half an hour after I sent my email message - there was a reply.

This family of three would be visiting relatives in South Africa and
they needed someone to look after Barney, their nineteen-year-old red
Tomcat. There was kindness and warmth in the email and it felt to me like reconnecting with an old friend. It turned out the feeling was mutual. We exchanged more emails and two days later we were sure it would all work out fine and I was very welcome to come and stay in their home.

There would be a live Christmas tree, two deep freezers filled with food that I was welcome to dig into, a tiny supermarket just across the road and fabulous neighbors! I emailed back that I was very much looking forward to my first official cat-sitting assignment. A few weeks later I received an email telling me my Christmas cake just came out of the oven and was smelling rather good. How nice and wonderful!

The Christmas tree sparkling with lights, my beautiful Christmas cake on display and yes...the BBC on. It turned out there were even a few presents for me under that beautiful tree. How kind and thoughtful was that?? It was going to be a very very nice Christmas! The friendly neighbors took me carol singing in their church, to Chichester to see the Cathedral and to Portsmouth to see Old Portsmouth and the Harbour. Whenever South Africa called me and told me about the great time they were having, I could truthfully answer them that everything at the home front was hunky-dory and that I was having a great time too.

What a great experience! For the rest of my life I will be seduced by house/cat/dog sitting ads. Now, when I get an update from The Caretaker Gazette I feel butterflies in my tummy: will my next assignment be in there? Because if it is up to me, there will be another great one!