Sara's secret to six months of stress-free travel

Sara Young shares her home with her two kids and their beloved 9-year-old pup named Cavendish, or Cav Dog for short. With frequent trips to see her partner in Antigua and many other travel plans throughout the year, Sara’s family can end up spending up to six months away from home.

“My boyfriend lives in Antigua in the winter, and my boys and I travel to see him for two months, then back to the UK for two months, and then back out again. We also do a two-month road trip each summer,” Sara explains.

With such a busy travel schedule, she needed to find a reliable pet sitter who could take care of Cav Dog and her home for extended periods of time. Do you know anyone who might be up for the job…?

“We need six months of pet sitting a year” 

Sara’s jet-setting lifestyle made it tricky to find the perfect person to care for her favorite furry friend every time she’s away. But trust us, that’s got nothing to do with Cav Dog himself, who’s a cool mix of Deerhound, Greyhound, and Saluki.

“He loves a long walk and being around people, but he’s also happy to have his own space and lounge around on the sofa,” Sara says. “He thinks he’s human (he’s about as big as one!) and he crosses his paws when he lies down.”

What a distinguished gentleman! 

“Everyone who meets him immediately loves him.”

The problem was never Cav Dog, but the long time Sara and her family spent away. Initially, Sara relied on family and friends to step in. 

“Cav Dog would go and have holidays with them, and they’d work out dropping him off at each other’s houses.”

But as her trips away became longer, shuttling Cav Dog from place to place became even more complicated.

“We then had a great lodger who lived with us for a year – this worked really well when we went away. However, when our second baby arrived, we realized having a lodger wasn’t the way forward.”

So it was back to the drawing board, this time asking friends of friends to come and take care of Cav Dog in their home. However, things didn’t always go to plan. 

“There were a couple of issues – they ate all our food and left their stuff at our house after the sit.”

Realizing she needed a more formal solution to pet care, Sara decided to take a different approach.

“I put up a post for a professional house and dog sitter in a local Facebook group, and was immediately flooded with messages saying I should use TrustedHousesitters.”

Bingo!

“I decided I needed to give TrustedHousesitters a go”

Sara set up her profile, created her listing, and added the dates she would be away. But she had her doubts…

“I was a bit unsure whether I’d find someone who would want to come and live in our house for two months.”

She figured people would be more interested in pet sitting in exotic locations rather than Southampton.

“However, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. After speaking to house sitters that we interviewed I realized that for some people, the longer house sits work better.” 

Sara needn’t have worried, as she said, there are always plenty of sitters looking for longer house sits. And after getting over her initial reservations, her experience has been nothing short of amazing.

“The sitters we’ve had were great! They were fantastic at communicating with us before, during, and after their stay. They left the house exactly as they found it, and really seemed to have enjoyed spending time with Cav Dog.”

“What I loved most was that we got some great photos of Cav Dog with the people that house sat for us, and everything was left exactly as it was found.”

TrustedHousesitters has made it easy for Sara to set clear expectations for her home and pet care, all while ensuring Cav Dog gets the love and attention he’s used to.

“It’s a lot easier to keep things formal and structured when you use a platform like TrustedHousesitters. You can be clear on your expectations, unlike when a friend is doing you a favor by looking after your house and pet.”

“Cav Dog is making lots of new friends”

Thanks to the lovely sitters Cav Dog has since met, Sara and her family can jet-set around the globe without worrying about leaving him behind or imposing on friends and family. Sara can set clear expectations, knowing she’ll come home to a happy, well-cared-for pooch and a tidy home.

So, what’s on the horizon for this Digital Nomad family?

“We’ll head out to Antigua again for two visits of eight weeks each this winter and might go to Europe for two months in the summer as well.”

The family’s also got their sights set on Sardinia next summer, where maybe they’ll swap roles and try their hand at pet sitting. Keep up with Sara and her family’s adventures here – we’re excited to see what comes next for them!

"TrustedHousesitters made it possible for us to have pets"

Want to hear how other families keep their nomadic lifestyles going while their pets stay happy and healthy at home? Meet Caz and her family, who juggle work, homeschooling, and a busy travel schedule while their two furry felines enjoy the comforts of home with a loving pet sitter!