
Elisabeth

Elisabeth
Trustworthy & caring pair of friends & nature lovers, happy to help out with your home and beloved pets (Michael: Auckland NZ only; Elisa: worldwide)
About Elisabeth
We are a cheerful, respectful, and friendly pair of friends who love nature and animals, are pet-savvy, and have excellent references. At this point Michael is doing only Auckland-area (NZ) sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year, so we are doing sits separately now.
I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horti...
We are a cheerful, respectful, and friendly pair of friends who love nature and animals, are pet-savvy, and have excellent references. At this point Michael is doing only Auckland-area (NZ) sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year, so we are doing sits separately now.
I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over five years pet-sitting experience, now. Michael is a scholar who is very tidy, wonderful with animals and well experienced pet sitting, and we are both handy around home & property. I've been doing pet sitting for some years before getting involved in this wonderful website in mid-2015, and have more references to share than can be seen on this page, if desired. Many folks using this site are not confirming sits on here, so feedback and reviews are not automatically prompted, and I often receive them via thank-you emails at the end - consequently, I have many more reviews than you can see on here.
Why I want to house sit
It's a perfect time in our lives as we transition from family life, to enjoy our good health and freedom, and see more of the world, making new friends as we go. It's also well-suited to our combined temperament to stay in a quiet home and soak up local communities, tho we do tend to be mostly homebodies with our 'hobby' of research and writing. We are currently doing sits separately, as Michael is Auckland-based for now, recovering from ankle surgery and due to a delay in fulfilling a work contract since accident, he seeks the local opportunities, and Elisa is moving back and forth between NZ, North America, and Europe and is at this time generally more flexible.
My experience
Michael has quite a lot of pet-sitting experience, in fact, and animals tend to seek him out. He has college training in animal husbandry and biodynamic gardening, as well as teaching. Elisa has sucessfully taken care of 23 farm animals for four months (farmer did not want her to leave!) as an introduction to the professional work of pet sitting, and many combinations since then. We are also also very experienced with basic household issues and can solve most issues on our own. We each grew up with pets and have enjoyed living in different countries, so we are used to differences in ways of doing things, and are adaptable and resourceful. Please feel free to contact for more info, many great references, & photos, and if you wish, you can also try elisashields on gmail.
Here are some references to share on this page; more upon request:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Elisa was engaged as a housesitter at La Domaine de Rodier, Castelnau-Montratier,
France, between February 17th and April 2nd, 2016.
In that period she demonstrated complete trustworthiness and competency in a
large house and garden environment and was at all times sensible and correct.
She was perfectly at home in a foreign-language country and able to confront
and solve the difficulties that this situation could present.
We would not hesitate in recommending her services to anyone for this purpose
and would certainly re-engage her should the need arise here again.
Laurence Kemmish
for Domaine de Rodier
~
To whom it may concern.
I personally met Elisa three years ago and have consequently become friends and have spent time together travelling around Scotland with my husband.
Elisa is a very loyal person and friend with great integrity and respect of others, also affable, responsible, and sincere. We found her home to be very comfortable.
We believe her to be very trustworthy and suitable for caring for someone's home.
Yours Sincerely
Wendy and Bryan Mitchell
CHRISTCHURCH, NZ
~~~~~~~~
2nd December 2015
To whom it may concern,
Re: Elisabeth R.
I have known Elisa as a friend since January 2011. During the time I have visited her often in places where she was living, either renting or house-sitting.
I have no hesitation in recommending her to you as someone who will take care of your property,
keep it tidy and clean, and call in the appropriate service people if there is a problem.
I hope this is of help.
Yours faithfully,
Mary C
~~~~~~~
Stephen B., whom I house-sat for during two different three-month periods in recent years, also agrees that he 'believes her to be very trustworthy and suitable for caring for someone's home.', and asked me to put his name to this.
~~~~~~~
My name is Mary Ellen R and I am writing to you at the request of my dear friend Elisabeth.
I have know Elisabeth for 45 years ( that number is startling!) and can whole heartedly endorse her as a responsible, gentle and intelligent person. I have witnessed her character in many different situations and would feel confident in leaving my home, children and animals in her care.
She is clean, sweet spirited and timely. As a mature woman, she knows what it takes to run household and use good judgement in a crisis.
I have never written a recommendation for this type of position before so I am not sure what else you would need to know. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I hope that you enjoy your holiday.
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen S.R.
~~~~~~~
Contact details for these references, and many more references to offer, upon request. Thank you for reading this far!
Reviews (7)
-
Sue - Bergerac, France
03 January - 28 March 2018
Our cats loved Elisabeth and when we returned from our travels they were in excellent health. Elisabeth kept our home secure during our absence - what more can one ask. We are just sorry she experienced the wettest winter since records began! We would be happy to welcome Elisabeth again, hopefull...
Our cats loved Elisabeth and when we returned from our travels they were in excellent health. Elisabeth kept our home secure during our absence - what more can one ask. We are just sorry she experienced the wettest winter since records began! We would be happy to welcome Elisabeth again, hopefully with more sunshine!
- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
-
Mary-Lynne - Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
27 July - 09 September 2017
Elissa was quick to respond to a situation while we were away - the problem was resolved by her. Our animals were happy and well taken care of by Elissa. Elissa had use of our car and we would have no problem lending her our car again.
Elissa was quick to respond to a situation while we were away - the problem was resolved by her. Our animals were happy and well taken care of by Elissa. Elissa had use of our car and we would have no problem lending her our car again.
- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
-
Wendy - Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada
10 September - 19 September 2017
We are very pleased with Elisabeth as our house and pet sitter. Our two dogs were well taken care of and very happy when we got home. Our home was also well taken care of and just as we left it. I highly recommend Elisabeth as a reliable and a loving house and pet sitter.
We are very pleased with Elisabeth as our house and pet sitter. Our two dogs were well taken care of and very happy when we got home. Our home was also well taken care of and just as we left it. I highly recommend Elisabeth as a reliable and a loving house and pet sitter.
- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
About Elisabeth
We are a cheerful, respectful, and friendly pair of friends who love nature and animals, are pet-savvy, and have excellent references. At this point Michael is doing only Auckland-area (NZ) sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year, so we are doing sits separately now.
I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over five years pet-sitting experience, now. Michael is a scholar who is very tidy, wonderful with animals and well experienced pet sitting, and we are both handy around home & property. I've been doing pet sitting for some years before getting involved in this wonderful website in mid-2015, and have more references to share than can be seen on this page, if desired. Many folks using this site are not confirming sits on here, so feedback and reviews are not automatically prompted, and I often receive them via thank......
We are a cheerful, respectful, and friendly pair of friends who love nature and animals, are pet-savvy, and have excellent references. At this point Michael is doing only Auckland-area (NZ) sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year, so we are doing sits separately now.
I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over five years pet-sitting experience, now. Michael is a scholar who is very tidy, wonderful with animals and well experienced pet sitting, and we are both handy around home & property. I've been doing pet sitting for some years before getting involved in this wonderful website in mid-2015, and have more references to share than can be seen on this page, if desired. Many folks using this site are not confirming sits on here, so feedback and reviews are not automatically prompted, and I often receive them via thank-you emails at the end - consequently, I have many more reviews than you can see on here.
Why I want to house sit
It's a perfect time in our lives as we transition from family life, to enjoy our good health and freedom, and see more of the world, making new friends as we go. It's also well-suited to our combined temperament to stay in a quiet home and soak up local communities, tho we do tend to be mostly homebodies with our 'hobby' of research and writing. We are currently doing sits separately, as Michael is Auckland-based for now, recovering from ankle surgery and due to a delay in fulfilling a work contract since accident, he seeks the local opportunities, and Elisa is moving back and forth between NZ, North America, and Europe and is at this time generally more flexible.
My experience
Michael has quite a lot of pet-sitting experience, in fact, and animals tend to seek him out. He has college training in animal husbandry and biodynamic gardening, as well as teaching. Elisa has sucessfully taken care of 23 farm animals for four months (farmer did not want her to leave!) as an introduction to the professional work of pet sitting, and many combinations since then. We are also also very experienced with basic household issues and can solve most issues on our own. We each grew up with pets and have enjoyed living in different countries, so we are used to differences in ways of doing things, and are adaptable and resourceful. Please feel free to contact for more info, many great references, & photos, and if you wish, you can also try elisashields on gmail.
Here are some references to share on this page; more upon request:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Elisa was engaged as a housesitter at La Domaine de Rodier, Castelnau-Montratier,
France, between February 17th and April 2nd, 2016.
In that period she demonstrated complete trustworthiness and competency in a
large house and garden environment and was at all times sensible and correct.
She was perfectly at home in a foreign-language country and able to confront
and solve the difficulties that this situation could present.
We would not hesitate in recommending her services to anyone for this purpose
and would certainly re-engage her should the need arise here again.
Laurence Kemmish
for Domaine de Rodier
~
To whom it may concern.
I personally met Elisa three years ago and have consequently become friends and have spent time together travelling around Scotland with my husband.
Elisa is a very loyal person and friend with great integrity and respect of others, also affable, responsible, and sincere. We found her home to be very comfortable.
We believe her to be very trustworthy and suitable for caring for someone's home.
Yours Sincerely
Wendy and Bryan Mitchell
CHRISTCHURCH, NZ
~~~~~~~~
2nd December 2015
To whom it may concern,
Re: Elisabeth R.
I have known Elisa as a friend since January 2011. During the time I have visited her often in places where she was living, either renting or house-sitting.
I have no hesitation in recommending her to you as someone who will take care of your property,
keep it tidy and clean, and call in the appropriate service people if there is a problem.
I hope this is of help.
Yours faithfully,
Mary C
~~~~~~~
Stephen B., whom I house-sat for during two different three-month periods in recent years, also agrees that he 'believes her to be very trustworthy and suitable for caring for someone's home.', and asked me to put his name to this.
~~~~~~~
My name is Mary Ellen R and I am writing to you at the request of my dear friend Elisabeth.
I have know Elisabeth for 45 years ( that number is startling!) and can whole heartedly endorse her as a responsible, gentle and intelligent person. I have witnessed her character in many different situations and would feel confident in leaving my home, children and animals in her care.
She is clean, sweet spirited and timely. As a mature woman, she knows what it takes to run household and use good judgement in a crisis.
I have never written a recommendation for this type of position before so I am not sure what else you would need to know. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I hope that you enjoy your holiday.
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen S.R.
~~~~~~~
Contact details for these references, and many more references to offer, upon request. Thank you for reading this far!
Verifications
Animal Care Experience
-
Dogs
-
Cats
-
Reptiles
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Fish
-
Poultry
-
Farm animals
-
Bird
-
Small pet
Availability
Preferred Countries
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits

Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Elisabeth has done 15 house sits since 2014


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BergeracFranceJan - Mar 2018
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HathersageUnited KingdomOct - Dec 2017
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EncinoUnited StatesOct - Dec 2017
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BellinghamUnited StatesOct 2017
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Port TownsendUnited StatesSep 2017
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CourtenayCanadaSep 2017
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DuncanCanadaJul - Sep 2017
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BerkeleyUnited StatesMay - Jul 2017
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VenturaUnited StatesApr - May 2017
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Port TownsendUnited StatesMar - Apr 2017
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VictoriaCanadaFeb - Mar 2017
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North DeltaCanadaFeb 2017
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TitirangiNew ZealandDec 2016 - Jan 2017
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PukekoheNew ZealandJul - Aug 2016
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GorronFranceApr 2016