For us pet sitting is so much more than free accommodations, it’s about building relationships with the pets and helping the pet / home hosts relax while away, knowing their beloved pets are receiving excellent care. 

We are thankful for the families that have entrusted us to care for their pets and homes. Since becoming houseless in 2022 we’ve slept in a lot of different beds, in a lot of different homes, hotels and BnB’s.  This year those beds have mostly been in the Calgary area, this was purposeful, since it enabled James to attend medical appointments.  Thankfully, those are now behind us.  We now have the freedom to travel further afield.  In April 2024 we’ll be on our way to the Europe and SE Asia.

Now, let us introduce you to the pets we have had the pleasure of staying with in 2023.

This is Sadie a boxer cross. Sadie loves the snow. We spent a lot of time walking in Fish Creek Provincial Park, Chapparal Valley and around the Blue Devil Golf Club in South West Calgary with Sadie. In the evening, Sadie likes to snuggle on the couch and watch TV.

Next in the pet sit line-up was an Akita Inu, named Niko and a doodle named Memphis. Niko was slow to warm up to us, but eventually he was following us around and wanted to be wherever we were. Memphis was quick to make us his friend and walk companions. We had some long enjoyable walks exploring their neighbourhood.

Moving right along, our next stay also in Calgary was with a cat named Lucy. Lucy is a definite snuggle bug, either on your lap or on the back of the chair or sofa right above your head. Lucy liked to join us at the dinner table.

Then off to the foothills for a weekend stay with a yellow lab named Milo and 2 seven year old orange tabby cat brothers named Boss & Banana. We also had 4 horses to monitor: Teddy, Scarlet, Sweet Pea and Edward.  It was a peaceful, snowy weekend. Sadly, Milo has since passed.

Next was a repeat sit in Sicamous, BC with 3 cats. 5 year old Jag (as the name Jaguar would indicate, he is black as night), 16 yr old orange tabby Buddy & 5 year old tabby cat Gabby. Their Pyrenees dog sisters Brook & Jessie went on vacation with Mum and Dad this time. While we were disappointed to not have the dogs this time we had a great month here with the cats and lots of free time to garden (as you can see James enjoyed his grass cutting) and explore the Shuswap area.

Back to SW Calgary to do a repeat sit of 13 year old Bichon named Rosie and her 18 year old  tabby cat sister Bunny.  This was a repeat of one we did in 2022.  We also sat with them again in September.  Rosie gets very excited when we come to stay with her, and Bunny is finally getting use to me, probably because I bring her her meals. Still after 3 sits she doesn’t let one get much closer than these pictures show. The owners say they don’t get much closer and they’ve lived under the same roof for most of her life. We had another opportunity to get our hands dirty with some yard/garden work.

Below we have 6 year old Tabby cat Rhea and her 5 year old sister Clio in NW Calgary. These two had funny hiding places, Clio could open dresser drawers and craw into the drawer below. Rhea’s favorite place was in the closet in a stack of sweaters. Rhea loved to chew on the plants even though she new she wasn’t suppose to. It was a struggle to get her to stop. They liked to sleep all day and run around all night. We caught on to that quickly and decided to keep them awake and playing most of the afternoon. A good nights sleep was had by all.

The Flame Point Siamese Ragdoll cat below is named Princess Puff Puff, she lives in West Edmonton.  Little known facts about the Flame Point: The flame point Siamese breed are the rarest of the Siamese breed and 75% of all flame point Siamese cats are male. Princess PP was a rescue that became a princess in short order. Princess PP knows which side of the bread, the butter is on.

Down to the Southwest of Calgary where we stayed with an 8 year old Ridgeback named Jersey and 13 year old border collie named Dodge. Dodge is a very talkative collie while Jersey is a gentle giant and likes to snuggle. We all enjoyed our daily walks on the ridge and in their neighbourhood.

Back to the NW of Calgary where we sat with Tango & Pinot 10 year old litter mates. Easy to care for and they have a beautiful home. While they weren’t very snuggly they did get up on our laps and stayed close by, where ever we sat. Very curious and playful.

Here in Surrey, BC Opale and Ariel 5 year old rescues allowed us to stay in their lovely home. Both are adorable, curious and loved chin and head scratches. Amazingly they were able to tell time. Especially mealtime and evening treat time.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Zoey who lives very close to Cooks Street in Victoria. Zoey is a very loveable, undemanding kitty that loved to be brushed.

We had never seen Bengal cats before, they are beautiful! Here we have 18 year old Bengal cat named Tazi, so tiny and loved to cuddle. I think it was because we provided heat for her. Her meals were brought to the bedroom where she stayed. Her sister 7 year old Ceili was also snuggly and vocal. Ceili mostly stayed upstairs with Tazi, she occasionally made a very brief visit to the main floor. I think this behavour was mostly because she was afraid of the most recent addition to the family, 7 year old rescued long haired Tuxedo named Luna. Luna was standoffish towards us but did eventually come close to sitting next to us on the sofa, another week and she may have accepted us.

Our stay in Esquimalt was with a 7 year old Glen of Imaal Terrier named Rosie, a 3 year old terrier Chihuahua cross and an 8 year old tabby cat Hannah. As you can see, both dogs felt they should be on a lap or very close to one. Very loveable pets that took us on walks of the gorge and further afield.

James and I spent our birthdays with a repeat sit of 13 year old Seal Black Point Siamese, named Bailey. Bailey’s owner has always felt Bailey didn’t like men. But Bailey sure took a shine to James. Bailey didn’t bring us any presents like the squirrel he hunted for us the last time we sat.

We spent Christmas in Nanaimo with 2½ year old Boxer, Sophie.. Oh my Sophie! you are such a loveable, playful pup. Sophie loved to be next to someone and wasn’t fussy about who it was. Sophie provided us with plenty of entertainment and great walks.

Well that is the end of 2023. Looking forward to what 2024 brings us in the way of meeting new people, new pets and exploring the world around us where ever we may be.