A letter from Mathew Prior, CEO of TrustedHousesitters

Hi all,

Like the rest of the community, I’ve been following the current news updates with increasing concern for my family, friends, and every member of TrustedHousesitters. But through these admittedly dark times, I can still see kindness, compassion, and positivity shining through from members like you, as well as from my dedicated colleagues. It is this community spirit that will ensure we make it through this time and, as the CEO of TrustedHousesitters, I want to thank you all for this.

With the coronavirus causing travel restrictions and other disruptions, I understand you may not be arranging a sit anytime soon. Again, I’d like to thank you personally for being a member during this incredibly difficult time. By doing so, you’re helping our community and Team Trusted continue for the long term.

TrustedHousesitters has been helping pet lovers travel for 10 years now and, together, members have saved each other over half a billion dollars in pet care and travel costs. More importantly, they’ve arranged over four million nights of house sitting, formed thousands of friendships, and kept pets safe and happy at home. We’re determined to keep this going; however, this will only be possible with your help.

While your dedicated Membership Services team are now all working from home, they will still be there for you. You’ll also have continued access to the expert advice of the veterinary nurses running your 24/7 Vet Advice Line while on a sit. This is a great resource for helping pets during this time and may even prevent an unnecessary trip to the vets.

Your Community Manager, Auntie Angela, is also working around the clock to support sitters who are struggling to find a place to stay. If you are in this situation or feel you can help by offering accommodation, please reach out to Auntie Angela.

The rest of Team Trusted are busy making the platform the best it can be for when we return to normal. They will also be providing you with plenty of content to keep you and your pets feeling happy and positive during this time, including the exciting launch of Trusted TV (a channel dedicated to entertaining the pets of members currently in self-isolation).

I’m also encouraging every member of the team to take paid leave, so that they can walk the pets of people self-isolating in their local area. Looking to the future, we plan to do even more to help others struggling from this situation. This includes supporting a number of animal shelters to cover the adoption fees of abandoned pets, alleviating the pressure these shelters will inevitably face.

This really is all only possible with your support, so thank you. We hope this pandemic ends soon so we can continue to help the community travel while keeping pets safe and happy at home. In the meantime, I truly hope you, your family and friends stay safe and well.

Best wishes,