Caring for new fluffy friends: Paola's member story

Meet our lovely member, Paola. Her love of furry friends propelled her into a career caring for animals - and into the world of pet sitting. Now a remote veterinarian, she loves to combine her travels with new fluffy pals. 

Here, she shares how her lifelong passion for pets and desire to travel inspired her to start pet sitting, and introduces us to a few of the furry friends she’s met along the way. Plus, as a Premium member, she reveals her top tips for when things don’t always go to plan…

Firstly, it goes without saying that (like most of our lovely members), Paola is a self-confessed, certified pet lover.

“Animals have always been my passion. My happiest childhood memories are helping my grandpa feed the chickens and pick up eggs, and the time I finally convinced my mom to get our first dog. 

There is something special about the animal-human connection that is difficult to describe, yet many other humans share the same feelings. Animals are my "happy place," and I enjoy their company and learning about them.”

So, it’s of little surprise then that Paola chose to dedicate her professional life to helping furry friends in need. 

“I became a professional animal trainer and obtained a veterinary degree with the dream of saving as many animals as possible. 

After years of working and taking care of animals day in and out, I decided it was time for a new adventure. I wanted to continue traveling and see the world. I found a remote veterinarian position at Hepper.com, which provided me with the amazing opportunity to continue helping animals by educating their caretakers. 

My new role inspired me to look into pet sitting as the best way to combine traveling with the opportunity to cuddle and care for pets.”

Pet sitting offered Paola the chance to combine her two main passions in life - pets and travel. After all, home comforts and cozy digs beat a hotel room any day. The extra perks and insurance features that came with Paola’s membership were simply the icing on top of the cake… 

“I prefer pet sitting over staying in a hotel because there is something amazing about helping people with their travels and being a part of a trust-based community. 

As TrustedHousesitters is the biggest worldwide pet sitting service, I decided to invest in the Premium membership, which includes accident and third-party liability protection, two global airport lounge passes, and house sit cancelation insurance.

The airport lounge passes are a great perk because the lounges make a huge difference in traveler wellbeing during long layovers. Most airport lounge tickets cost as much as the difference rate between the Basic and Premium membership, but with insurance as well, making it a great deal!”

“During my pet sitting experiences, I've had the opportunity to meet and help many pets. Pet parents with pets under medical treatment feel grateful and relieved to have a vet taking care of their beloved furry kids while they travel. 

It’s great that sitters also get 24-hour Vet Advice Line access while on a sit, which is something I have not personally used, but I am sure it is a big plus for sitters, pets, and owners alike.”

However, like all good sitters, Paola always knew it was worth having a contingency plan - for those ‘just in case’ moments. While rare, there’s always a small chance that something may not go according to plan, and in those instances, it pays to be prepared. 

And so, when her homeowner fell ill at the last minute on a house sit in BC, Canada, Paola was particularly grateful to have her plan B in place… 

“After a confirmed sit in British Columbia, Canada, I was all excited about spending five days taking care of a gorgeous Bernadoodle pup while the owner visited her daughter. She had even changed her flight to work with our available dates. Everything was set, we exchanged confirmation messages the night before our arrival date, and nothing could go wrong (or so we thought).

Early the next morning, we headed to the house, rang the bell, and could hear the pup barking. The owner took a while to come out from the balcony. 

'I messaged you earlier. I am so sorry!', she said, 'I am feeling very sick, and there is no way I can travel today. Not sure if this is contagious, I need to see a doctor!'"

“I did not have a local data plan, so I failed to receive the message she had sent. This was a HUGE surprise for us – all that planning, all those messages, and then this. However, we knew things would get sorted out. 

We asked if we could help and wished her a fast recovery. Still half perplexed, but with the peace of mind of knowing that the insurance would help us find alternative accommodation. We moved to a cafe for WIFI and contacted the TrustedHousesitters member support...”

“Since there were no other alternative listings available, it was confirmed that the insurance would reimburse alternative accommodation expenses for up to 150 USD/night during our 5-day sit. Hotels in this city are very expensive, but we were able to find nice accommodation in the area that was almost within that range after all the added fees.

The next day, the homeowner remained too unwell to travel, and she had begun feeling guilty – but I was able to assure her that everything was ok for us – we were taken care of thanks to our Premium membership insurance, and she could focus on her recovery.”

With their alternative accommodation in place and a glass-half-full approach to life (although slightly heartbroken to miss out on those canine cuddle sessions!), Paola and her partner were able to make the most of their trip.

“It was sad to miss those doggy cuddles. However, we were grateful to have the added sit cancellation insurance, which was definitely worth it. The alternative accommodation was nice and clean. While we had no pup to cuddle, we were still able to enjoy our time in the area, and I ticked off "see a bear in the wild" from my bucket list!

The insurance claim reimbursement process is not immediate as it goes through an evaluation, so I do recommend keeping an emergency fund, especially for this purpose. The member support staff was very helpful, informative, and accommodating, and they answered all our questions during and after the experience. They helped reassure us that everything would be ok.”

“Pet sitting is the perfect blend of my two passions: travel and animals; however, nothing is ever set in stone, and you never know when things may fail to go according to plan. 

We have enjoyed pet sitting and the amazing opportunities to care for and meet a variety of beloved pets whose parents put their care in our hands. Beautiful homes, nice places to discover, and amazing pets to care for and love.

We look forward to continuing to be members of the TrustedHousesitters community and hopefully help more pet parents enjoy their travels while having the peace of mind that their beloved furry kids are cared for with love.”

Ready to hear more member stories? 

Next up, hear from Nina - an adventurer, full-time travel blogger, and a TrustedHousesitters member to boot. In Nina’s story, she shares how pet sitting has enabled her to travel the world without breaking the bank, one cute pet at a time - and why she believes house sitting is the perfect solution for traveling pet lovers.