“I will sit for them again whenever I can without hesitation.”

At the end of 2019, we asked you all to look back and celebrate the special pets and people you met through TrustedHousesitters. 

After reading through so many wonderful stories (through both tears, laughter and deliberation) our judges finally chose the winners of The Trusted Awards 2019. However, the vast amount of stories did mean that some special mentions had to be shared. 

Here we have Jess and Chris, who was nominated by Ryan, who the judges also felt deserved a special nomination of which we titled The Wow Sit 2019. 

Listen to Ryan’s story as to why he nominated Jess and Chris for Sit of the Year 2019...

"What can I say about Jess and Chris, and their furry family? I've been lucky enough to sit for them multiple times since I first landed in South East Asia in 2016, and, most importantly, I'm happy to say we've become great friends since then. They've always made me feel welcome, and it's no secret that they love the animals they share their home with. For three years now, I've bookended my year by sitting for them through the holidays and into the new year, and I'm currently doing just that again.

In 2018, I sat for them twice when they travelled back to Canada for the holidays (I'm currently finishing the second sit now). As a fellow Canadian who started house sitting partially to avoid the winter back home, getting to spend part of December and January in a tropical paradise each year has been something I've looked forward to ever since they moved to Phuket, Thailand from Vietnam (where we originally met when I started sitting for them in 2015). Of course, along with the view of the palm trees, distant hills, and private pool, there's also the abundance of furballs that makes sitting for Jess and Chris so great."

"Thanks to their kind hearts, the furry family has grown over the years, and I've been lucky enough to have met all of them. Without a doubt, they all have unique personalities and quirks, and they've stolen my heart countless times with their antics, big sad eyes around feeding time, and their consistent desire to cuddle at night. Sure, I've spent probably a little too much time squished to the side of the bed because certain critters claimed my rightful spot while I was brushing my teeth, but that's just the price you pay as a house sitter.

On a sad note, in-between my holiday sits, Jess and Chris' family became smaller due to the loss of two dogs, Furks and Mr. Jenkins. Thanks in part to the friendship we've built over the years and the kind of caring people Jess and Chris are, they were considerate enough to have kept me up-to-date as things developed and when the end finally came. To say that I was sad to hear that they had lost family members would be an understatement, and it made my return here this Christmas a little bittersweet.

That being said, despite the losses of the past year, I've gained so much from sitting for Jess and Chris that I will be forever thankful that they chose me to take care of their family years ago. Now, as they prepare for their next big adventure out of South East Asia, I'm not entirely sure when our paths will cross again. One thing I am sure of though is that I will sit for them again whenever I can without hesitation."

Want to see what makes Jessica and Chris’ sit so ‘wow’? Head to their listing.

Or why not hear more stories from our Trusted Awards winners and special mentions?