Elisabeth & Michael
Elisabeth & Michael
Trustworthy & caring writer/researcher pair of friends, happy to help out with your home and beloved pets
About Elisabeth & Michael
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 sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year. I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over three yea...
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 sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year. I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over three 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.
Why we 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.
Our 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 (4)
-
Susan - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
20 February - 21 March 2017
Elisabeth housesat for me for one month during February and March 2017 while I was on vacation. She bonded with my cat Yumi and was careful not to give her too much food as she has a very healthy appetite and tends to gobble whatever food is given to her. My house was clean and tidy when I retu...
Elisabeth housesat for me for one month during February and March 2017 while I was on vacation. She bonded with my cat Yumi and was careful not to give her too much food as she has a very healthy appetite and tends to gobble whatever food is given to her. My house was clean and tidy when I returned.
Elisabeth is a very good communicator. She met with me prior to my leaving and had lunch with me on my return. I felt so comfortable that she was looking after Yumi and my home when I was away. I recommend her highly.- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
-
Farmand & Patti - North Delta, British Columbia, Canada
11 February - 27 February 2017
Elisabeth looked after our house and cats from Feb.11 to 28, 2017. we met Elisabeth the week before our departure and felt very comfortable with her experience of house and pet sitting. Upon our return we found the house very clean and our cats very content.
Elisabeth looked after our house and cats from Feb.11 to 28, 2017. we met Elisabeth the week before our departure and felt very comfortable with her experience of house and pet sitting. Upon our return we found the house very clean and our cats very content.
- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
-
Sally R. - Port Townsend, Washington, United States
30 March - 06 April 2017
Elisabeth was wonderful with my dog Daisy, and became her good buddy while I was gone, taking her for car rides and beach walks every day. She was tidy and helpful in all respects, easy to talk to, communicated well via email and texting, and I never worried for one second about my home or animal...
Elisabeth was wonderful with my dog Daisy, and became her good buddy while I was gone, taking her for car rides and beach walks every day. She was tidy and helpful in all respects, easy to talk to, communicated well via email and texting, and I never worried for one second about my home or animals. I highly recommend her.
- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
About Elisabeth & Michael
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 sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year. I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over three 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.
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 sits and I am travelling the world at least half the year. I've got a practical eco-design background, with some horticulture experience as well as over three 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.
Why we 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.
Our 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
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Cats
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Reptiles
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Horses
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Fish
-
Poultry
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Farm animals
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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 and Michael have done 8 house sits since 2014
-
BerkeleyUnited StatesMay - Jul 2017 -
VenturaUnited StatesApr - May 2017 -
Port TownsendUnited StatesMar - Apr 2017 -
VictoriaCanadaFeb - Mar 2017 -
North DeltaCanadaFeb 2017 -
TitirangiNew ZealandDec 2016 - Jan 2017 -
PukekoheNew ZealandJul - Aug 2016 -
GorronFranceApr 2016
