About Us
My husband (Dan) and I are retired. In 2013 we sold our downtown Minneapolis condo and now spend our summers on our beautiful 41′ Gozzard sailboat. Currently we are sailing on the Great Lakes and expect to continue doing so for several more years working our way eastward to salt water.
In our prior professional careers, I was a Director of Technical Support and Dan was a freelance writer. He has a passion for wine and cooking (also a sommelier) and has worked selling wine for many years.
We’ve both grown up with animals. Dan on a ranch with horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, cats, and dogs. I grew up with dogs and horses. I love cats but my mother was allergic. We always had a dog until our last Airedale passed away in 2012. With our sailing life, we have opted to go without a four-legged friend for the time being.
Prior to the condo, we built our own house and had beautiful gardens with roses, peonies, and hostas in the front and a wildflower garden in the back with well-stocked bird feeders. We also had a wonderful herb garden to compliment Dan’s passion for cooking.
We’ve been housesitting during the winter months (October-April) for the past few years and have enjoyed our stays at each location. We have received very positive feedback from all of our housesits and take pride in making sure both the pets and homeowners are happy when we depart.
Why We Housesit
When we decided to live on our sailboat for six-months/year, we knew that maintaining our own place from a distance would not be practical. We love exploring new areas and want to continue to do so during the winter months when we are not on our boat. We also miss having a pet – and housesitting fills that void.
Our Experience
We are very responsible and take pride in treating our house-sitting assignments with the same care that we would if we were in our own home. We’ve raised three crazy, high-energy Airedales during our marriage and trained them to be well-behaved and socialized pets. We have received five-star reviews from everyone of our sits.
- Oct 2016 – Two weeks+ – Port Dover ON – 10 horses, 3 dogs, 3 barn cats (THS)
- Nov 2016 – Two weeks – Oakland MD – 2 dogs, 2 cats (THS)
- Dec 2016 – Three weeks – London ON – 2 dogs, 2 bunnies (THS)
- Jan 2017 – Nine weeks – Groveland MI – no pets, outdoor bird feeders (HA)
- Apr 2017 – Nine days+ – West New York NJ – 1 dog, 1 cat (THS)
- Apr 2017 – Nine days+ – Roxbury CT – 2 dogs and large fish tank (THS)
- Oct 2017 – Four weeks – Ellicott City MD – 2 cats, indoor fish, outdoor fish (THS)
- Nov 2017 – Four weeks – Toronto ON – 1 dog (repeat)
- Dec 2017 – Ten days – Minneapolis MN – 2 cats
- Jan 2018 – Four weeks – Northfield MN – 4 cats (HA)
- Feb 2018 – Nine weeks+ – Golden Valley MN – 1 cat (THS)
- Apr 2018 – Two weeks+ – Dorset ON – 2 dogs (THS)
- Oct 2 – 10, 2018 – Collingwood ON – 1 cat (THS)
- Oct 15 – 26, 2018 – Kemptville ON – 3 cats, 3 dogs (THS)
- Oct 28 – Dec 4, 2018 – Roberts WI – 2 cats (HA)
- Dec 3 – Dec 27, 2018 – Northfield MN – 4 cats (repeat)
- Jan 14 – Feb 5, 2019 – Santa Barbara CA – 1 cat, 1 dog (referral)
- Feb 5 – Mar 10, 2019 – Golden Valley MN – 1 cat (repeat)
- April 12 – 17, 2019 – Chicago IL – 2 cats, 1 dog (HA)
- Nov 2019 – 4 days – Milwaukee WI – 1 dog (THS)
- Oct 23 – Nov 3, 2019 – Greenbank WA – 2 cats (THS)
- Nov 8 – Dec 15, 2019 – Port Ludlow WA – 1 dog, 1 cat (THS)
- Dec 19 – Jan 4, 2020 – Fort Bragg CA – 1 cat (THS)
- Jan 31 – Mar 8, 2020 – Santa Barbara CA – 1 dog, 1 cat (repeat)
- Mar 30 – April 6, 2021 – Santa Barbara CA – 1 dog, 1 cat (repeat)
- April 15 – April 24, 2021 – Port Ludlow WA – 1 dog, 1 cat (repeat)
- Nov 10 – Nov 17, 2021 – Port Ludlow WA – 1 dog, 1 cat (repeat)
Availability
We are currently booked through for the majority of 2021 and into the spring of 2022.
Julie,
My sister- in-law, Susan Mitchell, sent us your information and we are looking for someone to housesit our cats in March 2019. Sadly I see you are booked, but am hoping you could share the name of some who might be available.
We live northwest of Baltimore,Maryland.
What a wonderful life you have.
Thank you Ilona! I couldn’t agree more!
Julie