Wendy & Robert
About Wendy & Robert
Hello, I’m Wendy. I’d like to introduce myself and my partner, Rob.
I hope that you can get to know us enough through this profile, so that you might consider us, and after some more communication perhaps, you can relax and feel you truly have found ‘Trusted House/Petsitters’ for while you are away.
Firstly, Rob and I have both been home own...
Hello, I’m Wendy. I’d like to introduce myself and my partner, Rob.
I hope that you can get to know us enough through this profile, so that you might consider us, and after some more communication perhaps, you can relax and feel you truly have found ‘Trusted House/Petsitters’ for while you are away.
Firstly, Rob and I have both been home owners and pet owners most of our adult lives and know how important it is to find someone you can fully entrust your property and pets to, and are happy to be able to help in this regard. We can imagine what we would be concerned about if we were leaving our place and animals in a stranger’s care and want you to be reassured that we will do what you need.
I am primarily a Speech and Language Pathologist in private practice (same as a speech therapist) and Rob is a commercial pilot, although we have both done many other things as well.
I’ve stood for State Parliament twice (nearly got in the second time), sold PABX telephone systems into big businesses, worked in restaurants and bars, run events for dignitaries and accompanied my elderly father to numerous social functions after he was knighted for service to the community.
I’ve also run a children’s demonstration, research and teaching centre, advising government on the needs of young children and their families, and have been a Director on the Board of Anglicare North Queensland, a charity caring for homeless kids. I’ve held numerous other similarly responsible positions - too many to name, (but I can send my full CV if you’d like to see it). Mostly though, I pride myself on being ‘ordinary’, able to mix with all types of people, and being able to work hard and use common sense.
Rob came from a trucking family and after a short stint as a bank officer, drove big triple road trains carrying cattle in the outback, while he got up his hours as a pilot. He also worked as a policeman for 16 years, and because of his friendly demeanour, was chosen as Queensland’s first ever ‘community copper’.
After getting his commercial pilots’ licence, he worked in a number if places including for the Royal Flying Doctors Service. He currently flies jet freighters at night time for Virgin Australia.
Despite all of this, we are not wealthy people, having also dealt with some of life’s adversities, so we cannot travel in 5 star luxury very much! For this reason, being Trusted Housesitters enables us to spend time in lovely places; a privelege we thoroughly appreciate.
Between us we have had 5 children, but they are all grown up, so we feel we can begin to see something more of the world now.
We live separately a lot of the time, because Rob’s work often needs him to be based in different places. That is why you will see we have often done some separate sits.
I currently live on my farm on the Atherton Tablelands, a lovely cool place due to being in the mountains, 700 metres up in altitude, an hour and a half from Cairns. The farm consists of 52 acres for beef cattle and a 170 acre rainforest Nature Refuge. It has a beautiful garden around the house (3 acres of lawn, trees and flowering shrubs) surrounded by a creek with a 30 foot waterfall right by the house. Rob currently lives most of the time at a small unit at the beach in Cairns. We really have the best of both worlds! And yes, we would love you to come visit us sometime!
My youngest son and another tenant live here at the farm, as well as a part-time caretaker, so there is no problem to me being away for an extended time, although I oversee everything and do quite a bit of the garden maintenance myself when I’m here (love the ride-on mower), because I love the outdoors and enjoy being active.
In the past, when I was a single parent, I was totally responsible for all aspects of the work on the farm, including hosting farm stay visitors, working with the cattle, and mowing, trimming, cleaning gutters and sorting out all the usual things around the home and garden. I learned a lot, but mostly how to stay calm and find a solution!
I’ve needed to be self-sufficient and resourceful at all times as we are in a rural, remote location, and immediate help was not always at hand.
As a former Queensland police officer and now senior pilot, Rob has always been a very responsible type, and is very capable of handling small maintenance matters and overseeing the safety of his environment. I hope this speaks well for our capacity to care for your property and animals also.
We are both quiet-living people who enjoy the company of others, but even more so, our solitude. We are not ‘party types’ and only occasionally have a glass of wine or beer.
There’s probably lots more I could say, but I dont want too make this TOO long.
Most importantly though, I would say that as people who have always had animals as part of our family, we understand perfectly your love for them and therefore your desire to have them be really happy and not fretting while you are absent.
We want you to be able to have your trip away free of worry, knowing your home, garden and pets are being looked after just as you'd want.
We know that the best place for your pet/s is at home, with all the usual routines, food, smells, love and security they are used to. We will ensure they are happy and well-cared for as our top priority.
Why we want to house sit
Rob and I love getting to explore new places and we also love animals. We particularly like the fact that we can help keep pets happy, in their own homes, while we visit new locations. We also look on it as a form of community service that we do when we can; being part of the ‘global village’. We especially enjoy 'living like locals' because that lets us get a feel for what an area is REALLY like as opposed to just being tourists.
Being able to travel at low cost by staying in your home will help us too, while we help you. We promise, you won’t regret it.
I also need ‘quiet time’ to begin writing material for books, seminars and online resources. Sitting for several hours each day, with the pets around, would be perfect, and getting up for walks if needed, would be great to ensure I get some exercise too!
Bottom line .... Rob and I understand people's desires to keep their pets in their own familiar environment with individual loving care and attention. We also know how the security and care of your home in your absence is important if you are going to have a worry-free time away.
Our experience
We've both had a myriad of pets since childhood; dogs (ranging from purebreds to strays, great danes to miniature poodles), cats of all breeds and attitudes, fish, birds, guinea pigs and farm animals of all sorts. I have ridden horses, but not been very involved with their day-to-day care, but I’m sure I could manage if shown what is needed.
Rob has been a truck driver as well as a pilot, and has transported livestock, while I have single-handedly managed my very spoilt cattle on my beef cattle property for years. As a result we adore all animals and consider we are 'multi lingual' in how they communicate; being sensitive to their messages about their needs and wants. (Cows for example are a lot more social and intelligent than most people know, though I must say, I particularly relate to cats. The trick with all of them is to know their individual quirks and personalities and learn their body language.)
As stated above, Rob was a police officer before he changed career years ago to become a commercial pilot, so he is very reliable and security conscious.
I am an allied health professional (speech pathologist) trained in a medical faculty, so I have to be very ethical and understand health issues, which helps with the health care of animals as well (they’re not all that different). And I own a beef cattle farm, with chooks, turkeys, guinea fowl and lots of wildlife as extras!
We both love moderate exercise, are fit and well, and enjoy gardening as well as travel. One of our hobbies is visiting historic homes and gardens, and we are both very happy to care for plants at your premises.
I have also been a farmstay host for Japanese students and other international guests. I love hospitality, and I have also been an events coordinator for VIP’s, including Senior Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister, in prestigious private homes in Cairns.
Having said that, when my parents bought a farm, I very happily lived with them in a large shed and small caravan for a while, and some of my homes have only been cabin-size. I guess I am very adaptable!
I believe Rob and I bring reliability, love for animals, respect for your privacy and wishes, and excellent care for your home, mixed in with experience and commonsense. You can go on your trip knowing we will be in contact as much or as little as you want, and have the ability to deal appropriately on your behalf in the unlikely event of any unexpected situations should they arise.
I believe our reviews confirm this.
Bottom line ... we'd love you and you pets to be happy!
Reviews (10)
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Julie - Alexandra Headland, Queensland, Australia
30 March - 02 April 2018
Organised and caring, Wendy ticks all the boxes including helping me as a first-timer. She not only looked after the house and our beloved pets, she even arranged to help the second house sitter to settle in. (We had 2 back to back house sits). Thank you Wendy!
Organised and caring, Wendy ticks all the boxes including helping me as a first-timer. She not only looked after the house and our beloved pets, she even arranged to help the second house sitter to settle in. (We had 2 back to back house sits). Thank you Wendy!
- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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Barry - Ningi, Queensland, Australia
07 February - 12 February 2018
My experiences with Wendy and Rob was very comfortable and helpful. Wendy visited me a week before the sit to introduce herself and explained that Rob would be sitting without her as she had unexpected commitments elsewhere.
At my request Rob arrived a few days early, so that I could introduce ...My experiences with Wendy and Rob was very comfortable and helpful. Wendy visited me a week before the sit to introduce herself and explained that Rob would be sitting without her as she had unexpected commitments elsewhere.
At my request Rob arrived a few days early, so that I could introduce him to the animals and explain the routine to him. My dog Leah took to him immediately and quite content to be with him.
I went away feeling very relived that someone who obviously genuinely cared about animals was looking after my pets and I felt comfortable leaving my home and animals in their care.
On return I found the house tidier than when I left and the animals well cared for. I have no hesitation with using Wendy and Rob to house sit for me again and would recommend them to anyone needing a house sitter. Thank you Rob and Wendy -
Kathy - Cairns, Queensland, Australia
10 December - 29 December 2017
Wendy Richardson.
Right from our first contact Wendy left us feeling very positive. We approached her through the Trusted House-sitter site as she has excellent references, then via a follow up phone call instigated by Wendy. We discussed a time when she could come and meet us and Heidi, our main...Wendy Richardson.
Right from our first contact Wendy left us feeling very positive. We approached her through the Trusted House-sitter site as she has excellent references, then via a follow up phone call instigated by Wendy. We discussed a time when she could come and meet us and Heidi, our main concern, who is a mini smooth dachshund, and Matey, our small parrot.
Wendy and Heidi got on extraordinarily well straight away. Heidi sat on her lap while we talked about what we expected of the pet sit. She stayed and chatted and played with Heidi for roughly an hour. This really helped us get to know her and have the time to discuss garden and house care requirements with no pressure.
We really liked the instant rapport between Wendy and Heidi. We also greatly appreciated that she had even thought of a Plan B of a close friend or family member who could help if needed, such as in the very unlikely event of her being ill or anything.
We discussed what we would like Wendy to do for us, including feeding some wild birds, and felt completely confident that she could competently and caringly deal with everything while we were away. We felt relieved that we had indeed found a ‘trusted housesitter’.
Wendy called us again closer to our departure date and suggested visiting Heidi once more so she would be familiar to her. We felt this was very considerate of Heidi and us. During that visit Wendy also brought her husband Rob, who works away from Cairns mostly, but would be staying with Wendy some of the time, so that we and Heidi could meet him. Heidi loved him. This was so reassuring and we knew that Heidi would be left in good hands.
The night before we left, Wendy was happy to sleep over so it would be an easy transition for Heidi.
We set off on our trip feeling very confident and happy that everything on the home front was in good and capable hands.
During the house sit of three weeks approximately, a small maintenance matter did arise, which Wendy dealt with sensibly and appropriately. She also kept in contact and sent photos of Heidi as we had discussed; not too many, just sufficient to keep us reassured.
On our return, we could instantly see that Wendy had taken really good care of Heidi, Matey, our home and our small garden like it was her own. Everything was spotless and things were just like we’d never been gone. There was no sense of intrusion at all.
Neil and I both have some temporary mobility issues, and were super-appreciative of Wendy taking Heidi for one last walk while we unpacked. Although Heidi had been over the moon to see us back, the fact that she happily trotted off with her just twenty minutes after we’d got home, spoke volumes for the affection and trust she has in Wendy.
We would thoroughly recommend Wendy as a trusted house, animal sitter and care giver. She is very kind, thoughtful, and competent - ticks all the boxes and we trust her completely. 10/10
Kathy and Neil
Kathy J Connell- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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About Wendy & Robert
Hello, I’m Wendy. I’d like to introduce myself and my partner, Rob.
I hope that you can get to know us enough through this profile, so that you might consider us, and after some more communication perhaps, you can relax and feel you truly have found ‘Trusted House/Petsitters’ for while you are away.
Firstly, Rob and I have both been home owners and pet owners most of our adult lives and know how important it is to find someone you can fully entrust your property and pets to, and are happy to be able to help in this regard. We can imagine what we would be concerned about if we were leaving our place and animals in a stranger’s care and want you to be reassured that we will do what you need.
I am primarily a Speech and Language Pathologist in private practice (same as a speech therapist) and Rob is a commercial pilot, although we have both done many other things as well.
I’ve sto......
Hello, I’m Wendy. I’d like to introduce myself and my partner, Rob.
I hope that you can get to know us enough through this profile, so that you might consider us, and after some more communication perhaps, you can relax and feel you truly have found ‘Trusted House/Petsitters’ for while you are away.
Firstly, Rob and I have both been home owners and pet owners most of our adult lives and know how important it is to find someone you can fully entrust your property and pets to, and are happy to be able to help in this regard. We can imagine what we would be concerned about if we were leaving our place and animals in a stranger’s care and want you to be reassured that we will do what you need.
I am primarily a Speech and Language Pathologist in private practice (same as a speech therapist) and Rob is a commercial pilot, although we have both done many other things as well.
I’ve stood for State Parliament twice (nearly got in the second time), sold PABX telephone systems into big businesses, worked in restaurants and bars, run events for dignitaries and accompanied my elderly father to numerous social functions after he was knighted for service to the community.
I’ve also run a children’s demonstration, research and teaching centre, advising government on the needs of young children and their families, and have been a Director on the Board of Anglicare North Queensland, a charity caring for homeless kids. I’ve held numerous other similarly responsible positions - too many to name, (but I can send my full CV if you’d like to see it). Mostly though, I pride myself on being ‘ordinary’, able to mix with all types of people, and being able to work hard and use common sense.
Rob came from a trucking family and after a short stint as a bank officer, drove big triple road trains carrying cattle in the outback, while he got up his hours as a pilot. He also worked as a policeman for 16 years, and because of his friendly demeanour, was chosen as Queensland’s first ever ‘community copper’.
After getting his commercial pilots’ licence, he worked in a number if places including for the Royal Flying Doctors Service. He currently flies jet freighters at night time for Virgin Australia.
Despite all of this, we are not wealthy people, having also dealt with some of life’s adversities, so we cannot travel in 5 star luxury very much! For this reason, being Trusted Housesitters enables us to spend time in lovely places; a privelege we thoroughly appreciate.
Between us we have had 5 children, but they are all grown up, so we feel we can begin to see something more of the world now.
We live separately a lot of the time, because Rob’s work often needs him to be based in different places. That is why you will see we have often done some separate sits.
I currently live on my farm on the Atherton Tablelands, a lovely cool place due to being in the mountains, 700 metres up in altitude, an hour and a half from Cairns. The farm consists of 52 acres for beef cattle and a 170 acre rainforest Nature Refuge. It has a beautiful garden around the house (3 acres of lawn, trees and flowering shrubs) surrounded by a creek with a 30 foot waterfall right by the house. Rob currently lives most of the time at a small unit at the beach in Cairns. We really have the best of both worlds! And yes, we would love you to come visit us sometime!
My youngest son and another tenant live here at the farm, as well as a part-time caretaker, so there is no problem to me being away for an extended time, although I oversee everything and do quite a bit of the garden maintenance myself when I’m here (love the ride-on mower), because I love the outdoors and enjoy being active.
In the past, when I was a single parent, I was totally responsible for all aspects of the work on the farm, including hosting farm stay visitors, working with the cattle, and mowing, trimming, cleaning gutters and sorting out all the usual things around the home and garden. I learned a lot, but mostly how to stay calm and find a solution!
I’ve needed to be self-sufficient and resourceful at all times as we are in a rural, remote location, and immediate help was not always at hand.
As a former Queensland police officer and now senior pilot, Rob has always been a very responsible type, and is very capable of handling small maintenance matters and overseeing the safety of his environment. I hope this speaks well for our capacity to care for your property and animals also.
We are both quiet-living people who enjoy the company of others, but even more so, our solitude. We are not ‘party types’ and only occasionally have a glass of wine or beer.
There’s probably lots more I could say, but I dont want too make this TOO long.
Most importantly though, I would say that as people who have always had animals as part of our family, we understand perfectly your love for them and therefore your desire to have them be really happy and not fretting while you are absent.
We want you to be able to have your trip away free of worry, knowing your home, garden and pets are being looked after just as you'd want.
We know that the best place for your pet/s is at home, with all the usual routines, food, smells, love and security they are used to. We will ensure they are happy and well-cared for as our top priority.
Why we want to house sit
Rob and I love getting to explore new places and we also love animals. We particularly like the fact that we can help keep pets happy, in their own homes, while we visit new locations. We also look on it as a form of community service that we do when we can; being part of the ‘global village’. We especially enjoy 'living like locals' because that lets us get a feel for what an area is REALLY like as opposed to just being tourists.
Being able to travel at low cost by staying in your home will help us too, while we help you. We promise, you won’t regret it.
I also need ‘quiet time’ to begin writing material for books, seminars and online resources. Sitting for several hours each day, with the pets around, would be perfect, and getting up for walks if needed, would be great to ensure I get some exercise too!
Bottom line .... Rob and I understand people's desires to keep their pets in their own familiar environment with individual loving care and attention. We also know how the security and care of your home in your absence is important if you are going to have a worry-free time away.
Our experience
We've both had a myriad of pets since childhood; dogs (ranging from purebreds to strays, great danes to miniature poodles), cats of all breeds and attitudes, fish, birds, guinea pigs and farm animals of all sorts. I have ridden horses, but not been very involved with their day-to-day care, but I’m sure I could manage if shown what is needed.
Rob has been a truck driver as well as a pilot, and has transported livestock, while I have single-handedly managed my very spoilt cattle on my beef cattle property for years. As a result we adore all animals and consider we are 'multi lingual' in how they communicate; being sensitive to their messages about their needs and wants. (Cows for example are a lot more social and intelligent than most people know, though I must say, I particularly relate to cats. The trick with all of them is to know their individual quirks and personalities and learn their body language.)
As stated above, Rob was a police officer before he changed career years ago to become a commercial pilot, so he is very reliable and security conscious.
I am an allied health professional (speech pathologist) trained in a medical faculty, so I have to be very ethical and understand health issues, which helps with the health care of animals as well (they’re not all that different). And I own a beef cattle farm, with chooks, turkeys, guinea fowl and lots of wildlife as extras!
We both love moderate exercise, are fit and well, and enjoy gardening as well as travel. One of our hobbies is visiting historic homes and gardens, and we are both very happy to care for plants at your premises.
I have also been a farmstay host for Japanese students and other international guests. I love hospitality, and I have also been an events coordinator for VIP’s, including Senior Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister, in prestigious private homes in Cairns.
Having said that, when my parents bought a farm, I very happily lived with them in a large shed and small caravan for a while, and some of my homes have only been cabin-size. I guess I am very adaptable!
I believe Rob and I bring reliability, love for animals, respect for your privacy and wishes, and excellent care for your home, mixed in with experience and commonsense. You can go on your trip knowing we will be in contact as much or as little as you want, and have the ability to deal appropriately on your behalf in the unlikely event of any unexpected situations should they arise.
I believe our reviews confirm this.
Bottom line ... we'd love you and you pets to be happy!
Verifications
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All Standard Verification checks are carried out by a specialist 3rd Party
Animal Care Experience
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Dogs
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Cats
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Fish
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Poultry
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Farm animals
Availability
Preferred Countries
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits
Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Wendy and Robert have done 11 house sits since 2015
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Alexandra HeadlandAustraliaMar - Apr 2018 -
NingiAustraliaFeb 2018 -
CairnsAustraliaDec 2017 -
Bayview HeightsAustraliaNov 2017 -
Clifton BeachAustraliaOct 2017 -
Clifton BeachAustraliaSep 2017
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BrisbaneAustraliaMay 2017 -
AlderleyAustraliaJan 2017 -
MeltonAustraliaMay 2016 -
MeltonAustraliaMay 2016
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MelbourneAustraliaApr 2016
