Karen & Michael
About Karen & Michael
We are an English (Karen) and Irish (Michael) married couple. We currently live in Gibraltar, where Michael has been working for the past 6 years. Karen built and ran a guesthouse in rural Andalucia (Spain) for many years and is now taking it easy after many busy years in the hospitality industry. She enjoys doing voluntary work, both for chi...
We are an English (Karen) and Irish (Michael) married couple. We currently live in Gibraltar, where Michael has been working for the past 6 years. Karen built and ran a guesthouse in rural Andalucia (Spain) for many years and is now taking it easy after many busy years in the hospitality industry. She enjoys doing voluntary work, both for children and animal charities. Michael is a book keeper (Accountancy). We are both non smokers, active and sociable. We are experienced house sitters and huge animal lovers.
Why we want to house sit
House sitting is the perfect way to visit new places and feel part of a community. As animal lovers it's the icing on the cake when there are pets to care for. We really enjoy travelling and plan to do more of it in the coming years. Sadly we recently lost our own beloved dog, Niki, but this means we are now free to travel much more. In the past, Niki would accompany Karen on house sitting assignments. When he got too old, we changed tack and looked after pets in our home.
Our experience
Years of experience with dogs and cats! We've had everything from pure breeds to Heinz 57s and moggies, and loved them all! We are both very happy in the company of animals and enjoy all their different personalities and needs.
We are responsible, honest and respectful of other people's belongings and lifestyle. We will follow your instructions diligently and treat your pets as our own. Some years ago Karen needed house sitters, so we understand your concerns.
We are both level headed and able to think clearly in an emergency.
Very content to be home alone with the animals, walking the dogs, gardening, watering plants, etc.
We also looked after other people's pets in our own home, offering home-from-home boarding.
We're happy to give medication (not injections) if required. We have plenty of patience and we are equally happy looking after boisterous puppies or elderly, creaky cats and dogs.
References: apart from those posted here, we have various references which can be emailed to home owners upon request.
Reviews (6)
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Alison - Keston, United Kingdom
25 April - 06 May 2017
This is the second time that we have been lucky enough to have Karen as our house sitter and she is just brilliant! Our dog and four cats adore her and no wonder, as she showers them with love and attends to their every need. We were in touch with her regularly during our time away and could tota...
This is the second time that we have been lucky enough to have Karen as our house sitter and she is just brilliant! Our dog and four cats adore her and no wonder, as she showers them with love and attends to their every need. We were in touch with her regularly during our time away and could totally relax, knowing that all the animals were extremely happy and in such good hands. The house was immaculate on our return, the garden blooming and all the bedding and towels washed - she is so organised! With her great sense of humour and zest for life, not only has Karen been a wonderful house sitter but she has become a good friend too. We cannot recommend her highly enough to anyone looking for a reliable and caring house sitter and look forward to her returning again sometime soon!
- 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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Elizabeth - Gibraltar, Gibraltar
30 December - 02 January 2017
We highly recommend Karen and Michael to anyone who is in need of a pet sitter. Our slightly nervous/stand-offish kitty really warmed to them, they have such a lovely way of coaxing out the trust in an animal, Pumpkin was sleeping on their bed pretty quickly and having chatty conversations!! We r...
We highly recommend Karen and Michael to anyone who is in need of a pet sitter. Our slightly nervous/stand-offish kitty really warmed to them, they have such a lovely way of coaxing out the trust in an animal, Pumpkin was sleeping on their bed pretty quickly and having chatty conversations!! We returned home to a chilled out cat, unphased that we had gone away.
Thankyou so much for looking after our precious ginger furrball! You left the apartment sparkly clean, super tidy and weren't phased by the leaky boiler. We are so happy to have met you guys, anytime you are in the area and want to say Hi, please do!!!- 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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Response from Karen & Michael
We are so pleased to have met Liz, Michael and Pumpkin. They were so welcoming and the apartment is super comfortable, with every mod con (never mind the leaky boiler, these things happen). But the star is Pumpkin. When we first arrived he wasn't ready to be friends, but at some point during our first night, he climbed onto the bed and slept on my legs. That's when I knew we had been accepted! He is the gentlest of cats, who loves human company and is very chatty. Having experience of New Year's Eve in Gibraltar our concern was that he would freak out at the noise of the rockets and fireworks going off all around. We made the decision to stay in with him, and had a lovely evening, seeing the new year in with Pumpkin - a bottle of bubbly for the humans, and treats for Pumpkin (thanks for the bottle of bubbly Liz!). Thank you, Liz and Michael, for trusting us with your sweet boy. We look forward to seeing you again.
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Alison - Keston, United Kingdom
08 August - 30 August 2016
We are delighted that we chose Karen and Michael as our house sitters as that were fantastic in every way. They are clearly great animal lovers and showed such empathy and understanding of each of our pet's characters and individual needs. Our dog Dougie enjoyed wonderful daily walks as well as f...
We are delighted that we chose Karen and Michael as our house sitters as that were fantastic in every way. They are clearly great animal lovers and showed such empathy and understanding of each of our pet's characters and individual needs. Our dog Dougie enjoyed wonderful daily walks as well as frequent visits to the village cafe and thrived on the love and attention that he was given. The four cats were all in fine spirits on our return and it was as if we had never been away.
Karen and Michael are a very friendly and sincere couple who are completely trustworthy. From the start, they were extremely well organised, keeping us informed of their travel arrangements and during the house sit, we were so pleased to receive regular updates and photos of all the animals. They left the house in an immaculate state, washed the bedding and they insisted on replacing any food, dishwasher tablets etc that they had used, whilst the garden looked splendid, with the grass cut and the all the plants watered regularly, deadheaded and still blooming.
If you are looking for the perfect house sitters, you need look no further than Karen and Michael. They would be welcome back here any time and the animals would all be thrilled to see them again; I cannot recommend them highly enough. Thank you so much, Karen and Michael, for all that you have done to ensure that we were met by a most contented household of pets on our return.- 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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Response from Karen & Michael
And we are so thankful you chose us, Alison! We loved everything about our house sit. Your home is so comfortable and you made us feel so very welcome. We fell totally in love with the animals. Dear, sweet Dougie, always a joy to be around. He took us on some excellent walks and showed us just what a great swimmer and stick fetcher he is, with his daily frolics in the local pond. The four cats, each with such individual personalities, would follow us around the garden and loved a fuss. We have wonderful memories of our time in Keston, and a few tears were shed on our way to the airport!! Again, thank you for choosing us.
About Karen & Michael
We are an English (Karen) and Irish (Michael) married couple. We currently live in Gibraltar, where Michael has been working for the past 6 years. Karen built and ran a guesthouse in rural Andalucia (Spain) for many years and is now taking it easy after many busy years in the hospitality industry. She enjoys doing voluntary work, both for children and animal charities. Michael is a book keeper (Accountancy). We are both non smokers, active and sociable. We are experienced house sitters and huge animal lovers.
We are an English (Karen) and Irish (Michael) married couple. We currently live in Gibraltar, where Michael has been working for the past 6 years. Karen built and ran a guesthouse in rural Andalucia (Spain) for many years and is now taking it easy after many busy years in the hospitality industry. She enjoys doing voluntary work, both for children and animal charities. Michael is a book keeper (Accountancy). We are both non smokers, active and sociable. We are experienced house sitters and huge animal lovers.
Why we want to house sit
House sitting is the perfect way to visit new places and feel part of a community. As animal lovers it's the icing on the cake when there are pets to care for. We really enjoy travelling and plan to do more of it in the coming years. Sadly we recently lost our own beloved dog, Niki, but this means we are now free to travel much more. In the past, Niki would accompany Karen on house sitting assignments. When he got too old, we changed tack and looked after pets in our home.
Our experience
Years of experience with dogs and cats! We've had everything from pure breeds to Heinz 57s and moggies, and loved them all! We are both very happy in the company of animals and enjoy all their different personalities and needs.
We are responsible, honest and respectful of other people's belongings and lifestyle. We will follow your instructions diligently and treat your pets as our own. Some years ago Karen needed house sitters, so we understand your concerns.
We are both level headed and able to think clearly in an emergency.
Very content to be home alone with the animals, walking the dogs, gardening, watering plants, etc.
We also looked after other people's pets in our own home, offering home-from-home boarding.
We're happy to give medication (not injections) if required. We have plenty of patience and we are equally happy looking after boisterous puppies or elderly, creaky cats and dogs.
References: apart from those posted here, we have various references which can be emailed to home owners upon request.
Verifications
Verification level
Standard level
Email Address, Phone Number, External references (2), Identity & Document Check
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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Small pet
Availability
Preferred Countries
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits
Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Karen and Michael have done 6 house sits since 2015
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KestonUnited KingdomApr - May 2017 -
GibraltarGibraltarDec 2016 - Jan 2017 -
KestonUnited KingdomAug 2016
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King's LynnUnited KingdomMay - Jun 2016 -
Nueva AndaluciaSpainFeb 2016 -
AylesburyUnited KingdomAug 2015
