Dog Sitting in Matakana

Gregory

Due to a family emergency, I had to leave the country earlier than I had planned, and needed a sitter to fill in the gap between my departure and another sitter. Michele responded within minutes of my posting the sit, and then we spoke and confirmed the sit within hours. Her husband, Israel, was coming from Mexico to France, while she and her kids were to come from Sweden. When Michele’s travel plans changed, and she wouldn’t be able to come with her children, she assured me that Israel would still come to look after the house and dogs. To do this, for a stay of only five days, he flew to Paris, and then to the south of France, where he rented a car and drove the rest of the way to my place. As I was already traveling, the previous sitters filled him in on the various things that needed to be tended to: caring for two dogs, tending to hens, watering 90 young olive trees daily, as well as other things. The place is big and it took me 3-4 weeks when I first moved in to figure out where things were and what to do. Israel mastered everything upon his arrival, sent me daily updates with photos of my two VERY happy dogs. In addition to all the upkeep, he managed to hike with the dogs daily. I arrived home to find everything perfectly maintained, two fit and and Israel’s guest house cleaner than it was when he arrived. Immaculate. I cannot even express my gratitude for to both Michele and Israel for such a sacrifice and commitment to do that for me. It was a very difficult time, as I was dealing with the loss of both my son and my mother. I did not worry for one second while my dogs and home were in Israel’s hands. Thank you both, so, so much. You’re welcome back anytime, with the entire family, even just for a visit, maybe just a well-deserved holiday, with no dog- or house- sitting!

Laura

This was our first house/pet sit with @zeewoi and we were extremely pleased!
Robert showed up when he said he would, he accommodated our timelines and our dog's scheduled routine. He left our home in excellent shape and we had a very happy, relaxed pup to come home to. It was important to us that Robert meet us via video chat or in person before we left and he went above and beyond. He sent photos of our dog, Cooper, and him throughout the sit and we could tell that Cooper was very happy with Robert. He responded immediately to our texts, giving him updates about our return. Communication is so important for making sure both the sitter and the house owners are confident in one another.  Robert is very outgoing and friendly and we have 100% confidence in him to look after our home and our dog when we are away. We look forward to Robert providing another future home sit.

Anna

Cindy is an absolutely fantastic sitter and we feel very lucky to have had her care for our dog and our home whilst we went on our family holiday. Her communication before and throughout our sit was fantastic, and she even took our dog to the vet when he needed an unexpected checkup. She took great care of him and sent daily updates including videos and photos of their time together. We could tell that he felt very relaxed in her company. Thank you so much Cindy - it is a real godsend to have someone so kind and caring to take care of your pets and home and we would be delighted to have Cindy back again in future.

Stewart

Joanna and David were wonderful sitters for our dog Broderick and our apartment. Before starting to sit for us they took time to come and meet Broderick which we were very appreciative of. During their time sitting for Broderick we got great updates every day and wonderful photos of our pup, and they were very responsive whenever needed. When we got back home we found a happy puppy, healthy plants, and a spotlessly clean apartment - they had even taken the time to wash sheets and towels and left us a kind thank you note. We would have them sit for us again in a heartbeat!

Andrew

Brian is awesome - he is simply the best pet sitter and house sitter that we have EVER had and we've had a bunch. He is experienced, thoughtful, respectful, loving, appreciative, helpful, enthusiastic...the list just goes on. Started with our initial call - it was our first sit with zeewoi and he immediately instilled confidence in us in how he talked about his experience and how he saw his role.  In the pre-planning, he had great questions for us and helped us to get organized.  He was thorough through the instructions, came in a day early to make sure he understood everything about our house and our dog and then followed through on everything.  He even drove us to the airport and picked us up on the return.  Along the way we were gone, he sent us pictures and kept us updated - always making us feel good about being away and knowing Jorge and the house were in great hands. We had workers coming to fix a fence while gone and some other activity at the house - he was helpful, available, and willing to do whatever was needed to be done.  He was self-sufficient and when it came time to leave, he had everything organized and cleaned at the house - he left it in better condition than he received it.  We would love to have Brian sit whenever we are away (and in fact will invite him and hope he says yes!) - any one would be lucky to have Brian as their house and pet sitter.

Velia

Care and compassion for my dogs was at the top of the list of John's attributes. He was the first sitter I have used through zeewoi that was close enough to come meet the dogs before the sit. John not only came for an initial meet and greet, but he made time to meet the pups a second time prior to my departure to better familiarize himself with both the dogs and my home. Having put the fear of God in him about Penny's reactivity (I might have been a bit over the top, but better more attentive than less!), he was cautious with her in the beginning. Later in the sit, they trooped off to the beach on multiple occasions - all good! My 10-yr-old was on some meds for a serious battle with arthritis, and John managed Cooper's needs beautifully. John even made a call and a trip to the vet to re-up Coop's prescription when it was clear he needed to continue the protocol. I received daily updates by  text, including photos and video; communication is hugely important to me. I feel blessed to have had John care for my fur-babies.

JoAnn

Hamsa was very quick to respond in all communication.  She was prompt on her arrival and listened carefully to our detailed instructions about the house and dogs.  While we were away the amount of communication between us was just right.  When we arrived home the dogs were happy and the house was in order.  A good sign that a dog sitter paid lots of attention to the pups is when we see a bit of depression set in after a dog sitter departs - this did occur after Hamsa left our home  She is a very caring and nurturing individual.

Anne

The two-leggeds and four-legged members of this household give Tess a 5-star rating! We think she's one of the best sitters you will find - highly communicative, friendly, competent, reliable, and great with pets. Tess was also flexible about start and end dates to accomodate possible winter weather complications. For this sit, Tess was able to bring along her mom, Cathy. Tess introduced me to Cathy during one of our Skype conversations prior to the sit. It was a bonus to have her here with Tess. Their travel to Marquette was complicated by weather. A fierce winter storm swept across Michigan just before the sit. It took Tess and Cathy two days to drive here but they arrived, as promised, in time for us to fly out early the next morning. We even had time for a lovely dinner together and to introduce them to the dogs and house. We left the next day and never had a moment's worry while Tess and Cathy were caring for our pets and home. Tess sent us regular updates and photos. The dogs immediately accepted them as great new additions to their pack of friends - even our cranky, old chihuahua, Nike! We returned to happy pets and a spotlessly clean home. We plan to invite Tess (and Cathy if available) to return for future sits. Thank you, Tess and Cathy!

Sharon

Alia is a wonderful furbaby sitter and also a wonderful person.  It is our privilege to have her for the 3rd time.  She keeps us informed, our dogs love her, and she even cooked dinner and left it for us.  The house was perfect when she left.

Shannon

I could go on forever because Veronica was beyond incredible! We feel so fortunate that she was able to sit for us. Our fur babies were so spoiled with love and attention. Veronica followed their regular schedule, gave our dog her joint supplement, and helped clean her paws with medicated wipes from our vet. Our cat is very shy and sometimes doesn’t even come out for sitters and he loved Veronica! She brushed him and gave him so much love. They were both so happy when we came home. Veronica went above and beyond for us! She even made us masks, got us some disinfectant spray we haven’t been able to find and to top it off she made us bolognese sauce with sweet chicken sausage! She even left us a new box of pasta to make when we got home! We couldn’t believe we got to come home to an incredibly clean house, dinner and such happy pets! Veronica sent pictures and updates daily which made our time away even more relaxing. She took cleaning and sanitizing very seriously which we appreciated so much! We highly recommend her! She treated us, our home and pets just like family. We would love to have her sit for us again and are so grateful for everything she did for us! Also - dinner was delicious!!