Joan & Lauren
Joan & Lauren
Semi-retired couple, well traveled and lovers of animals. We will care for your home and pets as if they were our own.
About Joan & Lauren
We are semi-retired, very active former senior academics, and have lived in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Oman and Bahrain over the course of our academic careers. Our two children are now married and we have four lovely grandchildren, in Melbourne and Auckland. We have always had much loved family dogs and cats, and would be very happy looking ...
We are semi-retired, very active former senior academics, and have lived in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Oman and Bahrain over the course of our academic careers. Our two children are now married and we have four lovely grandchildren, in Melbourne and Auckland. We have always had much loved family dogs and cats, and would be very happy looking after most animals.Lauren is a keen gardener and is handy at “fixing things” around the home, so if the lawns need mowing, or garden kept tidy, he’ll be onto it quickly.
Because we have both been teachers, then working in management roles in tertiary education, we hold current police checks in both New Zealand and in Bahrain, where we lived and worked for 4 years.
We are both working only occasionally now, both for English Language Partners, providing English and cultural support to refugees and migrants; you can see details on the website English Language Partners New Zealand. Joan was employed there until she "officially" retired in 2016, and now is volunteering with their Literacy group one afternoon each week.
Both are non smokers.We understand that a person's home is one of their most precious possessions, and would take excellent care of any property entrusted to us.Please see our references from the sits we have done already.
Why we want to house sit
We are keen to keep travelling in our retirement, and love the idea of spending time in local communities, observing and perhaps participating in the everyday way of life. We had a timeshare, but found that the exchanges were usually in busy resorts, often very commercialized. Staying in a person's home, looking after their animals, garden etc. appeals far more.We enjoy seeing different areas, not as tourists, but as locals, getting to know places rather than just passing through. We loved our house sits in the UK, Portugal, Australia and France, as well as in NZ, and our references indicate that our home owners were very happy with the way in which we cared for their homes and pets.
Our experience
We have a nice home ourselves, Lauren keeps a great garden, so we are used to caring for a property. Since our children were born we have always had family dogs, sometimes a cat, and I used to ride. We genuinely do love animals and enjoy taking care of precious pets. We don't have a dog at present, as we are away quite often to visit family in Melbourne and Auckland, but Joan walks Floyd, our neighbour's black lab, as his owner works long hours and Floyd cries when lonely :(
We have lived overseas at different times during our careers, usually for 2 year periods, but most recently for 5 years in Oman and 4 in Bahrain, on academic projects. We returned to live back in NZ in early 2011. We are friendly people who mix easily and enjoy meeting others. We speak French, Lauren better than me! We are happy to talk on Skype, so that you can see and hear us and feel that you know us a little better.We understand that is is a big thing to trust your most precious possessions, home and pets, to people you don't know. Our references from previous sits might reassure you that you and your pets would be happy with our care.
Reviews (5)
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Carol - Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
08 July - 09 August 2018
Huge thank you, Joan and Lauren, for taking good care of my little Bethany. She was obviously spoiled and had lovely outings. A big thank you for taking her to the vet when you were concerned about her health. She missed you the first night as she was sniffing all around the house.
Huge thank you, Joan and Lauren, for taking good care of my little Bethany. She was obviously spoiled and had lovely outings. A big thank you for taking her to the vet when you were concerned about her health. She missed you the first night as she was sniffing all around the house.
- 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 Joan & Lauren
Thank you Carol, we loved looking after your little girl, and appreciated the use of your car to get around the lovely area.
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Lara - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
30 April - 14 May 2017
Joan and Lauren were exceptional, better than we could ever have imagined. They had to cope with four fluffies, two recalcitrant cats and two demanding (tiny---Chi hua hua)dogs and they excelled (we could tell by how comfortable the dogs were with them when we returned). Joan and Lauren went out...
Joan and Lauren were exceptional, better than we could ever have imagined. They had to cope with four fluffies, two recalcitrant cats and two demanding (tiny---Chi hua hua)dogs and they excelled (we could tell by how comfortable the dogs were with them when we returned). Joan and Lauren went out of their way to be helpful, accommodating changes in our travel plan, texting us photo updates while we were away and even picking us up at the airport. They cleaned and gardened so much over the two weeks that the house was much tidier than when we left. We very much hope that we will be able to open our home to Joan and Lauren again to look after our little ones.
- 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 Joan & Lauren
we loved caring for your little fluffies, Lara and John. Your home was very comfortable and we really appreciated the use of your car. Thank you for the opportunity, and we hope to repeat it at some time in the future :)
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Karen - Arganil, Portugal
26 October - 31 October 2016
Joan and Lauren stayed at our home in October and looked after our four dogs. They were a lovely couple who treated both our pets and our home with absolute respect. The dogs were happy when we arrived home and the apartment was spotless after they left. I would highly recommended them both.
Joan and Lauren stayed at our home in October and looked after our four dogs. They were a lovely couple who treated both our pets and our home with absolute respect. The dogs were happy when we arrived home and the apartment was spotless after they left. I would highly recommended them both.
- 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 Joan & Lauren
Thank you Karen, we enjoyed your four energetic dogs! and the lovely area you live in.
About Joan & Lauren
We are semi-retired, very active former senior academics, and have lived in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Oman and Bahrain over the course of our academic careers. Our two children are now married and we have four lovely grandchildren, in Melbourne and Auckland. We have always had much loved family dogs and cats, and would be very happy looking after most animals.Lauren is a keen gardener and is handy at “fixing things” around the home, so if the lawns need mowing, or garden kept tidy, he’ll be onto it quickly.
Because we have both been teachers, then working in management roles in tertiary education, we hold current police checks in both New Zealand and in Bahrain, where we lived and worked for 4 years.
We are both working only occasionally now, both for English Language Partners, providing English and cultural support to refugees and migrants; you can see details on the website En......
We are semi-retired, very active former senior academics, and have lived in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Oman and Bahrain over the course of our academic careers. Our two children are now married and we have four lovely grandchildren, in Melbourne and Auckland. We have always had much loved family dogs and cats, and would be very happy looking after most animals.Lauren is a keen gardener and is handy at “fixing things” around the home, so if the lawns need mowing, or garden kept tidy, he’ll be onto it quickly.
Because we have both been teachers, then working in management roles in tertiary education, we hold current police checks in both New Zealand and in Bahrain, where we lived and worked for 4 years.
We are both working only occasionally now, both for English Language Partners, providing English and cultural support to refugees and migrants; you can see details on the website English Language Partners New Zealand. Joan was employed there until she "officially" retired in 2016, and now is volunteering with their Literacy group one afternoon each week.
Both are non smokers.We understand that a person's home is one of their most precious possessions, and would take excellent care of any property entrusted to us.Please see our references from the sits we have done already.
Why we want to house sit
We are keen to keep travelling in our retirement, and love the idea of spending time in local communities, observing and perhaps participating in the everyday way of life. We had a timeshare, but found that the exchanges were usually in busy resorts, often very commercialized. Staying in a person's home, looking after their animals, garden etc. appeals far more.We enjoy seeing different areas, not as tourists, but as locals, getting to know places rather than just passing through. We loved our house sits in the UK, Portugal, Australia and France, as well as in NZ, and our references indicate that our home owners were very happy with the way in which we cared for their homes and pets.
Our experience
We have a nice home ourselves, Lauren keeps a great garden, so we are used to caring for a property. Since our children were born we have always had family dogs, sometimes a cat, and I used to ride. We genuinely do love animals and enjoy taking care of precious pets. We don't have a dog at present, as we are away quite often to visit family in Melbourne and Auckland, but Joan walks Floyd, our neighbour's black lab, as his owner works long hours and Floyd cries when lonely :(
We have lived overseas at different times during our careers, usually for 2 year periods, but most recently for 5 years in Oman and 4 in Bahrain, on academic projects. We returned to live back in NZ in early 2011. We are friendly people who mix easily and enjoy meeting others. We speak French, Lauren better than me! We are happy to talk on Skype, so that you can see and hear us and feel that you know us a little better.We understand that is is a big thing to trust your most precious possessions, home and pets, to people you don't know. Our references from previous sits might reassure you that you and your pets would be happy with our care.
Verifications
Verification level
Standard level
Email Address, Phone Number, External references (4), 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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Horses
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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
Joan and Lauren have done 5 house sits since 2014
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Gold CoastAustraliaJul - Aug 2018 -
MelbourneAustraliaApr - May 2017 -
ArganilPortugalOct 2016
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BamptonUnited KingdomJan 2015 -
Saint-ÉtienneFranceSep 2014
