Melanie & Chris
Melanie & Chris
Loving Care for your Pets and Home, the Same as our Own!
About Melanie & Chris
Hi, we are Melanie and Chris, a semi-retired couple. Our two passions in life have always been sharing our lives with our many companion animals and traveling the world. We can't think of a better way to see the world than enjoying the companionship of your furry friends while lovingly caring for them and your home.
It is important to us to ac...
Hi, we are Melanie and Chris, a semi-retired couple. Our two passions in life have always been sharing our lives with our many companion animals and traveling the world. We can't think of a better way to see the world than enjoying the companionship of your furry friends while lovingly caring for them and your home.
It is important to us to accommodate ourselves to your pet's routine and personalities when being allowed into their home and lives. Their well being, care and exercise is always our top concern. We completely enjoy spending a lot of time with them to be able to learn their personalities and special characteristics, and tend to become quite fond of all the pets that we sit for. You can be certain that your well loved companion will receive plenty of attention, exercise and cuddles while you are gone to ensure their well being in your absence.
We will enjoy updating you regularly with pictures (and I do mean quite a few!) and stories about how they are doing. Of course your home, plants and garden will be looked after as well, with the same attention to detail for their care and upkeep, allowing you to have a wonderful worry free vacation.
We are both very active, fit non-smokers and prefer to house and pet sit in non-smoking homes.
Why we want to house sit
Traveling as a tourist and staying in hotels is a far different experience than "living" in a community. We have always enjoyed our travels and explorations so much more when we're somewhat rooted into an area. We also love animals and miss ours a lot when we are gone. So to travel and have the added richness of staying in a home with the warmth of pets while we are away from home is ideal for us. We truly want to care for your home and pets the same as we would for our own, and yet, because we have four pets of our own, we are unable to consider pet sits of more than 3 weeks in duration.
Our experience
We have had rescue cats and dogs our whole lives, as well as some fish, turtles and hamsters. Several of our pets have been medically compromised, requiring medications, IM and subcutaneous shots, renal drip hydration and other modalities of care beyond the usual scope of pet care. We've both worked as volunteers with our local SPCA and in the months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, we worked for three months with an animal welfare group (with only 3 of us!) caring for 287 cats rescued by the National Guard and placed into our care. We feel completely capable of handling ANY personality and breed of cat. Our personal canine experience is with larger breed (very strong) dogs with assertive personalities and high energy exercise needs, although we are comfortable with smaller dogs as well.
We recently had a thorough background check (including fingerprinting) done by both the US Army and the German Government which allowed us to access and work on a secured US military base in Germany for 18 months.
As owners of our own home and also rental property, we are well versed in getting unexpected repairs done on the fly. Chris is quite handy with small household repairs, lawn care, and pool maintenance. Melanie is a top-notch "cleaner" with very good communication skills who loves photography. And while certainly not experts, we both enjoy gardening.
We are both willing and able to care for your home and pets, allowing you to enjoy your travels without worry for their care and well being while you are away :)
Reviews (16)
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Jerry - Annapolis, Maryland, United States
03 July - 14 July 2017
If you are looking for a house / pet sitter absolutely look no further Melanie and Chris and Melanie's father Frank were fabulous while we were away for 12 days. They were so good that we were concerned that our cats would want to go home with them rather than stay with us. The level of comm...
If you are looking for a house / pet sitter absolutely look no further Melanie and Chris and Melanie's father Frank were fabulous while we were away for 12 days. They were so good that we were concerned that our cats would want to go home with them rather than stay with us. The level of communications they had with us was great between all the pictures as well as the text messages etc. We were out of the country and were able to easily phone them via WhatsApp The house was in perfect shape upon our return and they even had prepared a wonder diner for us. This is the perfect house sitters and wonderful people. Thanks Melanie Chris and Frank and we look forward to meeting up with you in the future.
- 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 Melanie & Chris
Thanks Jerry to you and Maryann for making our time in Annapolis and at your lovely home so enjoyable. Your generosity and hospitality was truly appreciated by all three of us. Even though we're home with our own pets now, we sure do miss Morgan and Parker...two of our favorite cats ever!! Please give both of the boys a head scratch from us =^..^=
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Peter - Oviedo, Spain
23 March - 05 April 2017
Melanie and her father, Frank were wonderful sitters for our dog Tango and our house. They made our first experience with TrustedHousesitters a very positive and enjoyable experience. They arrived a day before our departure in order to accustom themselves with the house and with Tango's routine....
Melanie and her father, Frank were wonderful sitters for our dog Tango and our house. They made our first experience with TrustedHousesitters a very positive and enjoyable experience. They arrived a day before our departure in order to accustom themselves with the house and with Tango's routine. From the outset it was clear that he was happy in their company.
During our holiday, Melanie kept us up to date with photos and messages and Tango was given plenty of exercise. Melanie and Frank fitted in very well with our Spanish-speaking neighbours who found them very friendly and were impressed with the way they looked after Tango.
We returned home to a relaxed and happy dog and a beautifully clean and tidy house. Melanie and Frank had prepared a meal of a delicious cajun-style fish stew for us. We would recommend them as pet sitters and would love to have them return some day.- 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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Barbara - Rochester, Washington, United States
14 September - 18 September 2016
Melanie (and Laural) did an excellent job of sitting at our small farm. This was our first experience using Trusted Housesitters. We were gone for 5 days and they watched over our 3 rescue dogs and 2 rescue cats. They also fed the 4 goats and 1 turkey daily, and watched over our 11 alpacas. Melan...
Melanie (and Laural) did an excellent job of sitting at our small farm. This was our first experience using Trusted Housesitters. We were gone for 5 days and they watched over our 3 rescue dogs and 2 rescue cats. They also fed the 4 goats and 1 turkey daily, and watched over our 11 alpacas. Melanie made a great effort by cleaning the house before leaving her assignment, so we came home to something wonderful! All pets and livestock were in great condition. Thanks to you 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 Melanie & Chris
Barbara and LJ, we just fell in love with all three dogs and really enjoyed the experience of spending time with the alpacas and goats. Watching Nick the turkey herd the female alpacas around was a hoot! Just wish we could have completely cracked the cats shyness. Thanks for allowing us to spend time with your pets and farm animals!
About Melanie & Chris
Hi, we are Melanie and Chris, a semi-retired couple. Our two passions in life have always been sharing our lives with our many companion animals and traveling the world. We can't think of a better way to see the world than enjoying the companionship of your furry friends while lovingly caring for them and your home.
It is important to us to accommodate ourselves to your pet's routine and personalities when being allowed into their home and lives. Their well being, care and exercise is always our top concern. We completely enjoy spending a lot of time with them to be able to learn their personalities and special characteristics, and tend to become quite fond of all the pets that we sit for. You can be certain that your well loved companion will receive plenty of attention, exercise and cuddles while you are gone to ensure their well being in your absence.
We will enjoy updating you......
Hi, we are Melanie and Chris, a semi-retired couple. Our two passions in life have always been sharing our lives with our many companion animals and traveling the world. We can't think of a better way to see the world than enjoying the companionship of your furry friends while lovingly caring for them and your home.
It is important to us to accommodate ourselves to your pet's routine and personalities when being allowed into their home and lives. Their well being, care and exercise is always our top concern. We completely enjoy spending a lot of time with them to be able to learn their personalities and special characteristics, and tend to become quite fond of all the pets that we sit for. You can be certain that your well loved companion will receive plenty of attention, exercise and cuddles while you are gone to ensure their well being in your absence.
We will enjoy updating you regularly with pictures (and I do mean quite a few!) and stories about how they are doing. Of course your home, plants and garden will be looked after as well, with the same attention to detail for their care and upkeep, allowing you to have a wonderful worry free vacation.
We are both very active, fit non-smokers and prefer to house and pet sit in non-smoking homes.
Why we want to house sit
Traveling as a tourist and staying in hotels is a far different experience than "living" in a community. We have always enjoyed our travels and explorations so much more when we're somewhat rooted into an area. We also love animals and miss ours a lot when we are gone. So to travel and have the added richness of staying in a home with the warmth of pets while we are away from home is ideal for us. We truly want to care for your home and pets the same as we would for our own, and yet, because we have four pets of our own, we are unable to consider pet sits of more than 3 weeks in duration.
Our experience
We have had rescue cats and dogs our whole lives, as well as some fish, turtles and hamsters. Several of our pets have been medically compromised, requiring medications, IM and subcutaneous shots, renal drip hydration and other modalities of care beyond the usual scope of pet care. We've both worked as volunteers with our local SPCA and in the months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, we worked for three months with an animal welfare group (with only 3 of us!) caring for 287 cats rescued by the National Guard and placed into our care. We feel completely capable of handling ANY personality and breed of cat. Our personal canine experience is with larger breed (very strong) dogs with assertive personalities and high energy exercise needs, although we are comfortable with smaller dogs as well.
We recently had a thorough background check (including fingerprinting) done by both the US Army and the German Government which allowed us to access and work on a secured US military base in Germany for 18 months.
As owners of our own home and also rental property, we are well versed in getting unexpected repairs done on the fly. Chris is quite handy with small household repairs, lawn care, and pool maintenance. Melanie is a top-notch "cleaner" with very good communication skills who loves photography. And while certainly not experts, we both enjoy gardening.
We are both willing and able to care for your home and pets, allowing you to enjoy your travels without worry for their care and well being while you are away :)
Verifications
Verification level
Standard level
Animal Care Experience
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Dogs
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Cats
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Reptiles
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Fish
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Poultry
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Farm animals
Availability
Preferred Countries
- Belgium
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Cambodia
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- China
- Costa Rica
- Dominica
- Gibraltar
- Guatemala
- Hong Kong
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Japan
- Laos
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Maldives
- Mexico
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Reunion
- Slovenia
- Thailand
- Vatican
- Vietnam
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits
Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Melanie and Chris have done 16 house sits since 2013
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AnnapolisUnited StatesJul 2017 -
OviedoSpainMar - Apr 2017 -
RochesterUnited StatesSep 2016 -
BoulderUnited StatesAug 2016 -
CharlestonUnited StatesJun 2016 -
San Miguel de AllendeMexicoMay 2016 -
DurasFranceFeb 2016 -
Fort WorthUnited StatesJan 2016 -
Broadview HeightsUnited StatesNov 2015 -
RiverdaleUnited StatesSep 2015 -
BalaclavaAustraliaJan 2015 -
San MartínSpainOct 2014 -
Chevy Chase VillageUnited StatesSep 2014
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RiverdaleUnited StatesFeb 2014
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DunedinNew ZealandJan 2014 -
Chevy Chase VillageUnited StatesJan 2014
