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 (24)
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Nanette - Tucson, Arizona, United States
03 November - 10 November 2018
Melanie and Chris, plus Melanie's dad, took care of our boy kitties and our house for a week. We returned to a spotless house, with beds changed and towels washed. Chris, a trained chef, left us a wonderful Louisiana meal. Our cats were happy and healthy. Throughout the sit, Melanie shared phot...
Melanie and Chris, plus Melanie's dad, took care of our boy kitties and our house for a week. We returned to a spotless house, with beds changed and towels washed. Chris, a trained chef, left us a wonderful Louisiana meal. Our cats were happy and healthy. Throughout the sit, Melanie shared photos and videos of our "boys," which we appreciated. They communicated well throughout the sit. They used one of our cars with no issues. We would highly recommend Melanie and Chris for any house/pet sitting opportunity.
- 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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Arden - Chicago, Illinois, United States
24 October - 28 October 2018
I can't recommend Melanie enough! She was communicative from the very start and asked questions that showed me she was really invested in the well being of my animals. She took great care of our pets, sending daily updates, and left the house SPOTLESS when we returned. We hope Melanie will be com...
I can't recommend Melanie enough! She was communicative from the very start and asked questions that showed me she was really invested in the well being of my animals. She took great care of our pets, sending daily updates, and left the house SPOTLESS when we returned. We hope Melanie will be coming back to stay with us again soon!
- Organised
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- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
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Response from Melanie & Chris
Thanks Arden and Mike for entrusting Orion and Ferris to my care. They are both great little guys and I still find myself missing them today! I (and my co-sitter Teri) enjoyed spending time in Chicago and were glad to get to briefly meet Arden at the beginning of our sit. Hope to see (both of you!) again in the future.
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David - Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
21 September - 23 September 2018
Melanie and Chris were excellent pet caretakers and housesitters--I could not have asked for better care of our dogs and our house. If you are lucky enough to get them, you too will be pleased, I have no doubts. For those of you who may be new to the service, I'd be happy to offer further elabo...
Melanie and Chris were excellent pet caretakers and housesitters--I could not have asked for better care of our dogs and our house. If you are lucky enough to get them, you too will be pleased, I have no doubts. For those of you who may be new to the service, I'd be happy to offer further elaboration--please don't hesitate to ask!
- Organised
-
- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
-
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
Enhanced level
Email Address, Phone Number, External references (24), Identity & Document Check, Criminal Background Check (issue date: 21 Jan 2018)
All Standard and Enhanced 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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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
- Austria
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Cambodia
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- China
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Dominica
- Estonia
- Gibraltar
- Guatemala
- Hong Kong
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Japan
- Laos
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Maldives
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Reunion
- Slovakia
- 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 24 house sits since 2013
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TucsonUnited StatesNov 2018 -
ChicagoUnited StatesOct 2018 -
Colorado SpringsUnited StatesSep 2018 -
MeridianUnited StatesAug 2018 -
BreckenridgeUnited StatesJul 2018 -
DenverUnited StatesJun 2018 -
NewtonUnited StatesMar - Apr 2018 -
Wimbledon ParkUnited KingdomDec 2017 - Jan 2018 -
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 -
MelbourneAustraliaJan 2015 -
GuadiaroSpainOct 2014 -
Chevy Chase VillageUnited StatesSep 2014 -
RiverdaleUnited StatesFeb 2014
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DunedinNew ZealandJan 2014 -
Chevy Chase VillageUnited StatesJan 2014
