Matt and Hyemin's UK pet sitting adventures

Calling all pet lovers! Fancy cosying up with a cute kitty in Cornwall and bunny sitting in bonny Edinburgh? Or perhaps caring for Corgis in the heart of London is more your cup of tea? Either way, the UK is where it’s at this summer - and it could be your ticket to a truly unforgettable adventure. 

To find out more about what it’s like to go pet sitting in the UK, we sat down for a chin wag with some one of our lovely members, and today we’re hearing from sitters Matt and Hyemin. 

After meeting in California back in 2016, Matt and Hyemin's travels have taken them all over the globe - to Greece, South Korea, Spain and more. And of course, they've met a lot of cute, furry new friends along the way!

But there’s one place they’ve returned to time and time again: Old Blighty! And where are we beginning Matt and Hyemin's tour of the UK? Well, in a country manor, no less! Let's take a little trip to Royal Wootton Bassett...

“Here, we looked after the super cute pug Bertie and two cats, Henry and Sammy. Bertie warmed to us right from the start, and would follow us everywhere we went around the house or on the property grounds."

While they weren’t living out our personal country manor dreams, Matt and Hyemin got to explore the local area with Bertie as their personal tour guide - and met some of the furry locals!

“One of the best things about this sit was the long walks we could go on with Bertie in the countryside, as well as nice little pubs and nearby towns. We took a trip to Lacock one day, a beautiful little village that gave us the feeling that we were back in time!”

While calling a country manor 'home' for a few weeks sounds like a dream come true, Matt and Hyemin did encounter one particular drawback... if you can call it that!

"Out of the thirty sits we have done so far, this house was by far the most impressive... but it was so big, that you could almost get lost in it!“

When they weren't enjoying walkies with Bertie or meeting the local wildlife, Matt and Hyemin were busy playing ‘spot the Sammy’ in and around the grounds…

“Sammy the cat was a lovely looking guy who was much more independent than the rest and would wander off for most of the day on his adventures. We would sometimes spot him climbing trees around the property, or sneaking into the neighbouring farms...”

Their stay took an unexpected turn when 18-year-old Henry developed an ear infection. Luckily for him, he was in the right hands with caring Matt and Hyemin…

“Near the end of the sit, he got very sick with an ear infection, which seemed serious..."

"At one point we were worried he wasn’t going to make it, but after a visit to the vets and giving him his medicine he managed to make a full recovery just before we left. Such a fighter!”

Next, we’re heading to none other than the UK’s capital: London! Or Clapham to be more specific - and in to the paws of sweet British Shorthair, Maisie...

“In Clapham, we cared for the super cute Maisie. We were here during a summer heatwave, so Maisie would spend plenty of time in the bath and sink to keep herself cool. We loved how photogenic she was, and could not help but take photos constantly!”

And who could blame them? We already know our camera roll would be jam-packed with thousands of Maisie pics!

"Maisie was a house cat and the apartment was the penthouse at the top floor of the building, but she liked to spend time on the balcony as long as there was a harness attached so she couldn’t wander off. 

We had one eventful night where she managed to escape onto the next door's balcony, and ended up on her own little adventure! This put us in a bit of a panic, but we managed a successful rescue mission by climbing over the balcony ourselves.”

And Maisie’s antics didn’t stop there! Each morning, the couple would enjoy a purry start to the day, and revelled in all of Maisie's many wonderful quirks… 

“She would wake us up early in the mornings by pouncing on the bed which was a bit of a surprise the first time! But after she calmed down she would cuddle up to us every time.

One adorable thing about Maisie was that she would only like to drink water from a pint glass, which was so funny to watch!”

We wouldn't expect anything less, Queen Maisie! Now, before you get too settled, we’re heading down south to charming Uckfield, and into the paws of two sweet pets named Luca and Millie…

“We had the pleasure of looking after two lovable pets in Uckfield, East Sussex, named Luca and Milly, for two weeks. 

Luca was a rescue dog from Romania who had been poorly treated in the past. The owners adopted him through a volunteer company that had travelled all the way from Romania in a van to bring him over to the UK, along with many other rescue dogs.

His traumatic life had left him untrusting towards humans, so it took a few days for him to get used to us."

"He would sometimes forget who we were in the mornings and bark once we came downstairs. But it was so nice to see him gradually start to trust us, and after a week he would cuddle up to us in bed in the evenings!”

The next challenge for these two? Millie the kitty… 

“Millie the cat was very shy at first, and would run outside whenever she heard us coming. In fact, she spent most of the first few days outside, keeping well away from us! 

But just as Luca got used to us, so did Milly and we were soon good friends, getting cosy on the sofa together.”

To round off our mini tour of the UK, we’re heading to Faversham in Kent. Here, Matt and Hyemin met Barney - a real softie of a dog who was more than happy to teach the couple the joys of a slower pace of life…

“We spent two weeks with the lovable Barney the dog, in Faversham, Kent. Barney was an old boy, 15 years old, and was deaf..."

"The sit took place in the summer so we would wander around the orchard exploring and sometimes take a picnic. We tried to encourage Barney to come along with us but it was too much of a walk for the old boy!

He had very bad arthritis and bad hips, so would struggle to get himself up off the floor many times. The owners were worried about him, so we sent them plenty of updates on how he was.”

“He loved attention and would sleep near our bed during the night. Sometimes he would go outside for a wander but we had to keep a close eye on him as he would forget where he was now and again and become lost!

Once he saw us he would come bounding towards us which was so sweet. The cottage was located on a farm with a huge orchard, which was perfect for walks."

Barney’s farm was a mere 20 minutes drive from the history town of Canterbury, which meant - in between lots of Barney cuddles, of course - they were able to do lots of exploring down cobbled streets and charming architecture. 

“It’s now one of our favourite places to visit in the UK!”

To find out more about Matt & Hyemin’s pet sitting adventures, be sure to follow them on Instagram, @hyeminsz. 

Join the Great British summer of pet sitting! 

Feeling inspired by Matt and Hyemin’s adventures? Then follow in their dog-walking and kitty-cuddling footsteps this summer. Explore the UK for free in exchange for caring for adorable pets through TrustedHousesitters.

With 5,000+ new UK sits added weekly (and lots of UK pets in need of cuddles!), now’s the perfect time to become a pet sitter and explore what the UK and beyond has to offer.