Will walk dog for lodging?

[tuixiu]

Maybe this belongs in the travel forum, I dunno

So my wife and I are always throwing the idea around of doing the whole vagabonding thing... maybe three months, maybe six months backpack thru Asia or South/Central America. It would be a sabbatical from work

The problem (which is really a blessing, just a problem in this context) is we have one dog and two cats that are perfectly healthy. There is no way we're boarding them for that long, have no relatives/friends we'd impose on for that long, and it's prohibitively expensive to have a pet watching service come.

So what I'm wondering is if anyone has heard of a service that matches up people who are willing to watch pets/plants in exchange for living somewhere for free for a set amount of time? I think it would be a great deal for someone else they get a furnished townhouse that would probably cost $1000/month to rent for free in exchange for maybe an hour per day of pet related duties. The whole trust thing is an issue of course so a licensed/bonded service would be best.

Is there some great flaw in this thinking to where a service like this doesn't exist or have I just been unable to find it?

 

[ziggy29]

I don't know anything about it, but here's an example of one such service:

House Sitters & Sitting from Housecarers USA Australia Canada NZ UK worldwide .

(Not an endorsement, just the first thing I found on a search)

 

[sailor]

I've not seen a bonded service, but I would recommend posting an ad in Caretaker Gazette: WELCOME PAGE - The Caretaker Gazette - #1 Source for Caretaker Opportunities since 1983!

 

[tuixiu]

I must be searching on the wrong words I didn't find either one of those. Thanks comrades.

 

[Westernskies]

Maybe this belongs in the travel forum, I dunno

So my wife and I are always throwing the idea around of doing the whole vagabonding thing... maybe three months, maybe six months backpack thru Asia or South/Central America. It would be a sabbatical from work

The problem (which is really a blessing, just a problem in this context) is we have one dog and two cats that are perfectly healthy. There is no way we're boarding them for that long, have no relatives/friends we'd impose on for that long, and it's prohibitively expensive to have a pet watching service come.

So what I'm wondering is if anyone has heard of a service that matches up people who are willing to watch pets/plants in exchange for living somewhere for free for a set amount of time? I think it would be a great deal for someone else they get a furnished townhouse that would probably cost $1000/month to rent for free in exchange for maybe an hour per day of pet related duties. The whole trust thing is an issue of course so a licensed/bonded service would be best.

Is there some great flaw in this thinking to where a service like this doesn't exist or have I just been unable to find it?

I think this is a great idea! In fact, I just stole it, and sent a letter to Hugh Hefner, offering to provide a "few hours of pet-related duties" in exchange for being able to stay at the Playboy Mansion when he isn't around.

 

[ziggy29]

I think this is a great idea! In fact, I just stole it, and sent a letter to Hugh Hefner, offering to provide a "few hours of pet-related duties" in exchange for being able to stay at the Playboy Mansion when he isn't around.

Do you have any experience with the care and feeding of bunnies?

 

[Westernskies]

Do you have any experience with the care and feeding of bunnies?

Why, yes; yes I do.

 

[Martha]

Do you live in a nice part of the country where I could winter? Can I bring my old dog or will it get chewed up?

 

[Sarah in SC]

I've used Housecarers.com to find someone to stay at our house last summer when we went to Mongolia. It was an excellent site and I received 2 dozen very good applications that I narrowed down with some difficulty.

The retired couple who stayed at our place were marvelous and perfect in every way. If you want more details on the experience--please ask! I am a fan and will use housecarers.com again for our next trip. And it is free for the homeowner.

Edited to add: I've talked about this service before, when we were planning the trip. I am too [-]lazy[/-] busy to find the thread but if you search on Housecarers it will probably come up in the ER forum search.

 

[tuixiu]

Thanks a lot Sarah in SC