I have seen quite a number of threads where people are looking for pet sitters and it can be extremely difficult during the holidays or if you just fancy a weekend away with your other half. Myself included, have had problems over the recent Easter period and fancied a quick trip over to the UK but the pet sitter wasnt working over the Easter period as well.

Inspired by Hsiang's thread on tandem language partners, I was wondering if fellow pet owners out there are keen on the idea of a pet sitting network.

I understand that there will be people who will have concerns over insurance, the experience of the people that you might considering to entrust your beloved pet with. Hence, it will be great if you are planning on joining this network, to list as much details as you can about you, your environment and pet. For example:

Your pet
Type of animal: dog, cat, hamster, guinea pig etc etc
Breed
Age of animal
Animal spayed?
Gender

Your environment
House / Apartment?
Garden?
Any other pets?
Your location

Any other information

- Any other info about your pets needs will be great as well. This is for other owners to see if there is a match similar both pets lifestyles, before contacting you to pet sit.

This of course, will not involve money. Just provide your pet's food, bed, toys if need be. It will be similar to the concept of leaving your pet with a trusted friend and hopefully build up a support network of people who can help you look after your pet if you fancied a last minute getaway, that might not be convenient for your pet to come along, or need to make any emergency trips back to your home country.

Obviously, it will be nice to return the favour as well, down the road.

Just a thought - I am sure there will be other pointers that have not crossed my mind, please feel free to jump in with any comments or suggestions. If there is enough positive feedback, hopefully, we can ask the mods to make a sticky and get this off the ground.

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Remember when someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles to frown, BUT it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and b****-slap the mother-f***er upside the head.

Great idea! Im in Geneva though so its a long shot but here we go

Your pet
Type of animal: dog / cats
Breed: Bouvier appenzel cross/ no clue
Age of animal: 5 months /2 years
Animal spayed: No/ yes
Gender: Male

Your environment
House / Apartment?: Flat
Garden: No
Any other pets: Yes
Your location: Geneva

Thanks for the responses. Hopefully this can be up and running. If you miss your pet stuck in your home land, but wouldnt mind helping a fellow EFer out and taking in a furry friend for the weekend, you are more than welcome as well.

Here is mine then:

My pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: Norwich Terrier
Age of animal: 15 months (as of Nov 2008)
Animal spayed: Yes
Gender: Male

Mv environment
House / Apartment: Apartment
Garden: no
Any other pets: no
Location: Zurich

Additional information

- I will unfortunately, be unable to house cats. I am allergic, and my dog isnt very keen on them either, but I welcome dogs of all breeds, age and sizes.

__________________
Remember when someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles to frown, BUT it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and b****-slap the mother-f***er upside the head.

Good idea:

Your pet
Type of animal: 2 cats/ 2 guinea pigs
Breed: stray (LOL)/siamese / ??
Age of animal: 2 years/8 months/3 months
Animal spayed: yes/ yes / nope (they are male)

Your environment
House / Apartment?: Flat
Garden: Terrace
Any other pets: Yes
Your location: Basel

Summerrain,

I think this is an EXCELLENT idea because I am always looking for a dog sitter and am also willing to dog sit myself. I have currently found one family through English Forum who trades dog sitting with me, but it would be nice to have more options too when they are not available. I would love to join your Pet Sitting Network. Below is my information:

My pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: Black Labrador
Age of animal: 2 years old
Animal spayed? No
Gender: Female

Your environment
House / Apartment? Apartment with a huge garden in the complex
Garden? No private garden, but a huge garden as mentioned above
Any other pets? No
Your location Meilen (Lake of Zurich area)-5 min from the forest and great off leash walking trails.

Additional Information: I stay at home during the day and take my dog on many off leash walks throughout the day.

I am currently looking to trade dog sitting while my husband and I go to the states June 11th-27th. Please PM me if anyone is interested in watching our dog. I would be happy to watch your dog while you are on holiday too.

Thanks,

AggieCoco

Thanks for setting this Up:

Your pet
Type of animal: Long Hari Golden Retreiver Female (JOSIE)
Age of animal: 4 years
Animal spayed: Yes
Your environment
House / Apartment?: Flat 2nd Floor w/Balcony (overlooking the Rhine)
Garden: Dog walking area directly out front
Any other pets: No
Your location: Basel

We will be looking for someone to watch Josie the week of July 24 - July 31. Our home or yours.

Your pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: German Pinscher
Age of animal: 2 years
Animal spayed? No
Gender: Female

Your environment
House / Apartment? Apartment
Garden? No
Any other pets? No
Your location: Basel

What an excellent idea - we only have small animals but I'd love to 'borrow' a dog or cat from time to time as a welcome guest.

Your Pet.
type of pet: 2 rabbits, one gerbil
breed: dwarf
age of pet: about 2 years
spayed? one yes (male), one not (female), gerbil is a boy.

Your environment:
house, detached
large garden
Basel outskirts.

Thank you for the great idea.

This is a great idea, like others have mentioned, thanks for getting it started.

Our pet:
Type of animal: dog
Breed: Standard poodle
Age of animal: 3 years
Animal neutered? Yes
Gender: Male

Your environment: Apartment
Garden? No, but we live close to the Zurichberg and many walking trails to explore.
Any other pets? No
Your location? Zurich, Schwamendingen area

Excellent - we had great success with a pet-sitting swap in the UK in the last few years before we came over here. Found someone via a network site and we exchanged an email or 2, and established that our holiday dates would be compatible, our dogs were well matched, etc. etc and then we agreed to meet.

I suggested a park mid-way between Reading (our area) and Windsor (their area), but they said maybe it would be better if we came over to their house...... they lived in the grounds of Windsor Castle! All in all, Casper had 3 holidays living it up in the Castle grounds, and we even saw the Corgis (through a window) on one occasion.

Many thanks for getting this thread started.

Our pet:
Type of animal: dog
Breed: Tibettan Terrier (kept clipped)
Age of animal: 8 years
Animal neutered? Yes
Gender: Male

Our environment: House
Garden? Yes
Any other pets? No
Your location? Basel area, just outside to the south

This kind of informal arrangement can only work if there is trust. Personally I cannot participate by dog sitting as we have 3 dogs and one of them is very territorial. We also have a parrot, who might like some company occassionally, so bird sitting is not out of the question. My husband, who has at some point owned almost every caged small animal, would be prepared to look after mice, guinea pigs, hamsters and rabbits. He draws the line at reptiles and insects.

Our pet:
Type of animal: 3 dogs
Breed: Basset Hounds
Age of animal: 9, 7, 5
Animal spayed? yes
Gender: female

Additional pet:
Type of animal: Parrot
Breed: Cockatoo (Triton)
Age of animal: 8
Gender: female

Your environment
House / Apartment? House
Garden? Yes. Fenced
Any other pets? See above
Your location: Lengnau

Any other information
I thought it might be worth adding languages spoken: German, French, English.
In case of an emergency, or an animal needing medical attention, I would want to know whether the sitter can communicate in the local language. Also, not everyone speaks English to their pets so it might be worth adding this in the case of dog sitting.

__________________

I am so happy to see this network. Maybe there is friend for my elderly Charlotte.
My pet:
Dog, Jack Russell Terrier
15.5 years old spayed Female

Your environment
House with Fenced garden
and resident cat in Kreiss 7, Zurich

Any other information
Our other dog died in September at 16.5 (heartbreak). Charlotte has never been without him and has become insecure and hates to be left alone. She is most comfortable with male dogs. She has a bad back and can't walk very far, but she does loves to go for short outings. She is a 'special needs' case, but very loving and sweet.

Your pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: Labrador/Spaniel/X
Age of animal: Nearly 6 Years
Animal spayed: Yes
Gender: Male

Your environment
House / Apartment?: Maisonette
Garden: Yes, fenced in.
Any other pets: Nope
Your location: Dubendorf

Happy to look after another dog for a weekend or evening if we are free.
Boot is fairly placid and gets on well with other dogs.

Our Pet
Oscar
Type & Breed
Dog -- Yellow Labrador Retriever
Age of animal
Just turned 1 on April 3rd
Animal spayed?
Yes
Gender
Male

Your environment

House / Apartment?
Pet friendly apartment... Large 5 room apartment with Plenty of space (including 2 Extra bedrooms) for playing! We are also on the ground floor so there is no concern about making noise or being too loud for anyone below us..... it's just the bicycle storage room underneath our apartment!
Garden?
Yes... There are also a number of sports fields across the street from our building, as well as Lots of hiking trails through woods in a really safe and off-road area.... Ideal for any pups that like to go exploring!!
Any other pets?
Nope.... Just Oscar
Your location
Baden ... toward Baldegg

Any other information
Oscar ADORES having playmates!! He is a Master Fetcher, and will most likely remain a puppy at heart throughout his entire life!!
He loves tunneling through legs when you first get home, BIG fan of treats, loves to play hard as well as Rest....
Lastly.... he thinks it's Hysterical to steal your place in bed if you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night! By the time you make it back to bed he has taken your place and is waiting with great anticipation to paw at you and roll a bit while giving you a big sloppy grin!
Haha what a goober he is

Your pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: Labrador/Collie mutt
Age of animal: 2 years
Animal spayed: Yes
Gender: Female

Your environment
House / Apartment?: apartment
Garden: nope but forests nearby.
Any other pets: Nope
Your location: Luzern

Maya is super calm and nice. Super playful and energetic if the situation calls for it but also quiet and lazy when everyone else is being quiet and lazy. We are working on the pulling while walking but other than that, she is well trained, and very very loving

We can take another dog no problem as Maya is submissive and unagrassive. She does NOT ever bark, only whines for attention sometimes. Non territorial at all.

We can take other dog for a weekend if needed. If things go well between the dogs we can discuss longer stays as well for vacations and such. Working fulltime we only take Maya out in the mornings and evenings (for like an hour each time) and the rest of the day she sleeps.

Your pet
Type of animal: cat
Breed: common housecat (mix?)
Age of animal: 1.5yr
Animal spayed? yes
Gender: female

Your environment
House / Apartment? attic apartment
Garden? Balcony
Any other pets? no
Your location: Basel

Any other information
Hubby and I speak English at home (and to the cat ) but hubby speaks German as well. Willing to watch other pets here as long as they are cat friendly and there is a chance to introduce Bonny to the pet and see how they get on.

Bonny has spent time with Angela's cats and with our guinea pigs (before I gave them to m-i-l due to my allergies). I think she got along alright with Angela's cats and had no problem with the pigs. "Recently" we had a dog here (♥ Tekla) and as the night passed, Bonny was curious but we figured rather be safe than sorry and we kept the two separated.

There is a dog walk area just across the street from my place so any furry friends staying here need not worry about a place to find relief.

__________________
The Joys of Opticianry

What a fantastic idea

We don't actually move until the end of July but would love to register our interest - we will be back & forth to UK many times and would be so grateful to find a kind hearted person to look after our boy but equally would be happy to look after someone else's baby in return.



My pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: Golden Retriever
Age of animal: 7
Animal neutered: Yes
Gender: Male
Temperament: - very well behaved - loves kids and generally sleeps alot

Mv environment
House / Apartment: House
Garden: yes - fenced & safe
Any other pets: no
Location: Zurich - near to Zurich Berg woods

Additional information

- I would really only be able to take dogs - I am allergic to cats, and our dog tends to consider small animals as play things, but I would be happy to take well behaved dogs of all breeds, age and sizes.

I'll put our names down for this too.

My pet
Type of animal: Dog
Breed: German shepherd
Age of animal: 7
Animal neutered: Yes
Gender: Female
Temperament: - good natured, loves children and other dogs

Mv environment
House / Apartment: Apartment
Garden: yes, not fenced
Any other pets: no
Location: Between Zurich and Baden

Additional information

Our dog has to stay on her lead in the vicinity of the building due to cats living in the building (is written into our contract), but we are surrounded by countryside and have plenty of places to walk. Would be able to take in dogs and small animals such as guinea pigs and rabbits (we have a large balcony), but not cats as our dog sees them as something to chase. We speak english at home, but I can speak a small amount of german.

Yeah, great idea!

My pets
Type of animal: Dogs
Breed: Corgi and Labradoodle
Ages: 3 and 4
Animals Spade: yes
Gender: Females

My environment
House/Apartment: Apartment/Townhouse
Garden: yes and fenced
Location: Eysins near Geneva and Nyon

Additional Information
Our pets are very active and enjoy a hike/walk every day. We live near plenty of forests and I am a stay home Mom so I have plenty of time to take care of animals. The "girls" are both very friendly but the Corgi truely does have run of the house. We would love to find someone that can watch our pets during short notice trips and we are happy to watch others. Our dogs are not accustomed to cats but our children would absolutely love the opportunity to have one around.

Your pet
Type of animal: 2 dogs / 1 cat
Breed: Black labs / Minx
Age of animal: Dogs: 6 and 7, Cat: 14
Animal spayed: yes to all

Your environment
House / Apartment: Small house/apartment attached to a larger house
Garden: yes, small, but fenced in
Any other pets: yes, fish.
Your location: Saint Blaise - Neuchatel

Looking for someone to watch my 2 black labs on occasional 3 day weekends this summer and over 4 days in September.

Tonya