Our Experience with Trusted House Sitters    by Bill Magargal 

One issue that prevents many of us from traveling as often or for as long as we might like is... "Who will take care of the dogs, plants, house, etc." For many years we paid our neighbor to come over to the house twice a day to feed the dogs, let them in and out, bring in the mail, etc. But, as time went on, our neighbor aged, and found it too difficult to do this. We live in a very rural area, and  could find no one else to take care of the dogs. 

We were on our own. We could make short, one, or two-night trips by taking our dogs to the local kennel, but the dogs hated it. We felt bad for them, and a bit guilty for doing it. Then, in 2018, we hosted an Australian Servas couple who traveled pretty-much full time. We were due to leave in a few days for a three-day trip, but the kennel was full. What should we do? They offered, "We are Trusted House Sitters. Why don't you use us?" So, we did, and it was a win-win.  

Apparently, there are other groups like Trusted House Sitters, but we've been so happy with our TH experiences that we have not looked at them. It turns out that like Servas, no money is exchanged between homeowner and sitter. Like our Australian friends, TH enables them to stay on the road for a long time. In fact, our first long-term sitter (3 months), did not have a permanent place to live. His work was all internet based, so a decent internet connection was all he required. He preferred long sits. Several of our sitters have been NYC residents who look for getaway stays to places like our home in the Catskills. 

Trusted House Sitters does some vetting of sitters, but they also have a rating system for both sitters and homeowners. We always look at a sitter's reviews, and usually do a zoom interview before accepting them. Likewise, sitters look at our write-up and reviews before accepting a sit at our home. Apparently, some homeowners are very cheesy, and require sitters to bring virtually everything they will need, including toilet paper.  

We have had great experiences with TH, except for one (they were removed after a TH complaint review). Like our experience with Servas, we have remained in touch with several.