Wonderful west Michigan lake home with a dog and two cats.

Introduction

We are retired (former Lawyer and Physical Therapist) and love to travel but, worry about leaving our pets in caring hands. We are certified scuba divers which has provided us opportunities to travel the world. We have been to every continent except Australia. Another travel passion is visiting our National Parks. We love to hike and enjoy the splendor of the great out of doors. When not traveling, we take pride in maintaining our home and yard and there are plenty of lake activities that we enjoy - swimming, kayaking, paddle boating and general relaxing by the water.

Home & location

Our home is located in the countryside on a private 40-acre lake on a private road in West Michigan. We live near the end of the road so there is minimal traffic or noise. We are equidistant (30 miles) from Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Both offer great restaurants, museums, craft beer places (home of Founders and Bells Brewery) and theatre. We are a 1 hour drive to Lake Michigan. You can enjoy great beach towns like South Haven, Holland and Saugatuck. Our lake is a quiet, deep, no-wake lake (no jet skies) and is described as “peaceful” by all who visit. You can dive in off the end of the dock as it is 8 ft deep. There is great fishing for bass and blue gill. You will have access to our kayaks, canoe and paddle boat. There is a nice stone patio and pavillion down by the water with a fire pit and plenty of wood if you wish to enjoy a fire at night. On our deck is a large hot tub to enjoy. We subscribe to Dish for tv service which includes Showtime. Our tv is a smart tv and we get Netflix. There is also an Apple TV device you can use. Our high speed internet allows streaming but, due to our remote location there are times when it buffers. Our neighbors are quiet and respectful people. We will let them know you are visiting and give you contact information if you have questions. We have a neighbor across the street who has a house key and can be contacted to help with the pets if you get in a jam. Our close friend is also our vet. She will gladly and promptly help if something needs to be addressed with our pets. Ruffy is a great car traveler and you can bring him along on your adventures (weather permitting) if you intend to leave for more than 8 hours. The cats are independent. So long as they have water, food and clean litter boxes you can leave them for extended periods. There is a guest room shown in the photos in the blue colors and the master bedroom in white and soft green. There is only one full bath and two half baths. The kitchen, dining room and living room are “open concept”. The screened porch has a flat screen tv. Our basement room has a treadmill and lifecycle you are welcome to enjoy.

Responsibilities

Ruffy: gets a morning walk to start the day. He is fed breakfast after his walk. He gets a couple of arthritis medications at breakfast with peanut butter. During the day, he typically gets a walk in our private neighborhood around 11:30am, 5:00pm and before bedtime. Don’t worry if he misses one of these walks. We have a supply of doggie poop bags to clean up his poop on neighbor’s yards. There is an aluminum can on the side porch to deposit these bags until the trash man comes. You must enter the street only from the driveway after you remove his Invisible Fence collar. He gets fed dinner after his 5:00 walk. Once he takes care of “business” he can be left alone for up to 8 hours. He loves to ride in the car if you take him along. Tango and Cache: clean litter boxes (4) in the house regularly; they eat (dry food and wet food) when ready; one can of wet food/day; keep their water dish full; visit them in the basement or screened room. Keep them away from Ruffy as he will chase them and they are afraid of him. We use the sliding pocketdoor in the kitchen to keep them apart. They have a light on a timer in the basement and a cat door to allow them access to the screened porch. (In the summer) Open the screened porch windows for them on warm nice days and close if rain comes. Plants: We will consolidate plants to make it easier to water.