Home & Pet Care Ltd

Information for Carers

Home and Pet Care was established in 1988 to fulfill the needs of people who were unhappy with the prospect of leaving their pets in kennels and their homes vacant and unprotected.

Sue Wells runs the company with the help of her husband John, and a small team of assistants.

A house sitting assignment may last anytime from a few days to many months. A typical housesit consists of looking after 2 dogs and 2 cats for 1 to 2 weeks. You will not be expected to care for any animals with which you are unfamiliar.

You will usually be invited to look after a client's property within about 50 miles of your own home. Clients pay your travel expenses at the rate of 35p per mile. If you are interested in working further afield, you might consider accepting a lower rate of travel expenses which would put you in reach of more clients.

The busiest times are between April and October and at Christmas and the New Year.

The security of the client's home is very important and for this reason we ask that the property should not be left for periods of more than 3 hours in daylight or 1/2 hour after dark. Incidentally we are very proud of our record of never having a property in our care burgled in 19 years of house sitting.

As a prospective Carer you should have experience of cats or dogs, or preferably both, and it is essential that you are fit enough to walk a dog for half an hour twice a day. We regret that no pets can be taken on assignments.

We have a clientele ranging from titled people with very grand properties to clients with more modest homes. Many if not most of our clients regard their pets as their most treasured friends. Clients generally favour couples or single woman. Single men are harder to place. Non smokers are preferred and it is often an advantage to own a car.

Clients generally contact us around 1 to 3 months before their holiday. We then arrange for a meeting in their home with the Home and Pet Carer where you will have the opportunity to see the property and meet the pets.

In view of our isolated position, 800 feet up in the Cumbrian Fells, it is not always feasible to conduct face to face interviews.

Unlike any other companies we do not impose restrictions on you 'sitting' for friends or relatives.

Home and Pet Carers will be required to sign a contract preventing them from making private arrangements with our clients.