From how to celebrate while traveling and fresh starts after 60 to flower crowns (and fluffy new friends!) in San Diego, there’s no doubt about it: May was a fantastic month full of interesting chats, insightful conversations, and fun discussions over on our friendly community forum.
So, settle down and get ready as we dive on in and share a round-up of some of the very best contributions and conversations from over the past month...
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Topic of the month
This month, our forum topic Sitters who’ve saved my listing created quite the buzz and a number of interesting discussions from our lovely community forum members. From advice on how to favorite a listing and the reasons as to why a sitter might do so, to an interesting topic about whether or not sitters should be able to see which pet parents favorited them, too, it's not one to be missed!
Member @Claireisamazing also chimed in with her own success story, and why favoriting a listing could be a great way for sitters (new or otherwise) to get their feet through the house sitting door:
“Happy news: I saved a host’s profile last night, for the future, and THEY INVITED ME today. That was a very welcome, and pleasant first for me, being new.”
Category of the month
This month, our members took to our THS News & Feedback category, in response to Team Trusted’s Product Manager, Lizzie’s recent post: Reviews - We want to hear from you!
ICYMI, our product team has started work to improve and refresh our current reviews system, and took to the forum to ask for our members' feedback, frustrations, likes, and dislikes - the subject of reviews has also been a hot topic in our What Features Would You Like to See on THS? thread.
Our product team will now be diving in (paws first) into all our members' feedback and suggestions as they continue to work on this area of the site - stay tuned for more updates!
Forum member of the month
This month, it’s two big ‘paws up’ to forum member, @KC1102, who is always on hand to provide thoughtful contributions to many threads and topics, giving a balanced view and helping to encourage their fellow members.
Here’s just one example (of many!) of @KC1102's great words of wisdom and encouragement in the recent thread, Worried mom:
“It’s very understandable to be nervous how your pets will respond to new people. My husband and I have done over 60 sits on THS and while we may have had some animals that were a bit shy at first and took a bit to warm up, we have never had a true problem with a pet not accepting us. In most cases, we were all BFF pretty much straight away.”
Quote of the month
This month, we were spoilt for choice with all of the great comments and conversations happening this month on the forum. And so, it’s a tie!
First of all, we had to give a shout-out to our very own forum mod, @Debbiemoderator, for this great contribution in the heartwarming topic, Phoebe's Story:
“It’s amazing how bringing in a “rescue” can really change not only their lives, but ours as well. The love and appreciation they have for us only gives us that much more love to give as well.”
Phoebe found her fur-ever home | Image credit: @Kimba
@Debbiemoderator - we couldn’t agree more!
But that wasn’t all - we absolutely loved this comment from forum member @Danandnan on the topic, Our passion for travel has led us to sell almost everything we own and commit to exploring the world:
“We have really enjoyed our adventures traveling and pet sitting. We have cared for incredible pets and met some awesome people in our travels, and consider many of them as good friends now.”
Photos of the month
This month, our San Diego Dog Mom’s Day event (and the subsequent forum topic, naturally) proved to be an absolute treasure trove of fantastic photos, highlighting just some of the fun (and VERY cute pooches in attendance!) from the day.
We’ve shared a few of our favorites below, but for the full flower-crown-and-fluffy-friends glory, we highly recommend visiting this wholesome, feel-good thread!
Flower crowns and fluffy new friends | Image credit: @Kelly-Moderator
In other news, we loved this snap shared by member @Romana on a different kind of ‘walkies’ - taking the horses she was sitting for out for a stroll!
Walkies! | Image credit: @Romana
What else have the community been discussing this month?
We’ve shared a few other standout topics below, but be sure to head on over to the forum yourself for even more great discussions and chats!
How do you celebrate while traveling?
From birthdays and anniversaries to other special days and celebrations, @Karen-Moderator started this great topic all about how to celebrate while traveling. While many of our members, such as @botvot, opt for a special meal or even high tea on a vintage bus(!), others, such as our very own @Angela-HeadOfCommunity, celebrated one birthday with a full-on adventure around South Africa! If you’re looking for ideas on how to celebrate your special day while on the road, this is the topic for you!
Birthday celebrations in South Africa | Image credit: @Angela-HeadOfCommunity
Goodbye my beautiful boy
Trigger warning: pet loss
Our hearts go out to member @Amanda56, who in this topic shared the very sad news that her beautiful pup, Berkley, recently crossed the rainbow bridge. Of course, our members were there to share their messages of love, support, and their own beautiful memories of past pets. @Amanda56, we're all thinking of you during this difficult time, and sending lots of love.
A new start after 60
In this inspiring forum thread, member @Tuppence shared a great link to a Guardian article all about embracing the house sitting lifestyle later in life, and needless to say, the comments that followed did not disappoint!
“What a fabulous article. That woman reflects and represents so many of us, including me. It’s something that really lights your fire, at least it did for me.” - @Amparo
Join our friendly community forum
Looking for tips or advice on your listing or sitter profile? Or just fancy a chat about some of your favorite travel destinations, house sitting experiences, or pets? Pop on over to our community forum today - a friendly, welcoming, get-involved-as-much-as-you-like kinda place, where pet people like you can find advice, support, and conversations from real and experienced members.
