Introduction
Looking for a sitter Christmas and New Year day approximately - 18th December - 5 January 2024
Simon and I have lived here in Central Le Marche for 16 years. We are both now retired (almost) and love to travel around Europe in our camper van as well as visit family, (we have 10 grandchildren) back in the UK when we can. Our animals are a very large part of our life, most of which have been rescued and we have re-homed many abandoned kittens during our time.
Home & location
Small, quirky and charming 400 year old Italian cottage set in a peaceful garden and olive grove. A recent sitter described it as a “small house with a big heart”. Our house is a small Italian ‘rustico’ situated in a quiet lane with living accommodation on the first floor; pantry, kitchen, dining room, sitting room, one bedroom and bathroom. WiFi is available and we have central heating and a wood burning stove. On the ground floor we have a very basic garden kitchen (the original use) which stores the washer and other items. This is not a holiday home; we have lived here for 15 years and it is still a work in progress.We have a very large garden, with a covered patio area attached to the house. The garden is fenced off so the animals have plenty of room. We are in a small rural hamlet within easy reach of the Adriatic Coast and the beautiful Sibillini National Park. Our nearest towns of Penna San Giovanni and Sant’Angelo in Pontano are 4-5km away and both have small supermarkets, chemists and a doctor. Our nearest airports are Ancona, Perugia and Pescara and the major historic and vibrant towns of Macerata and Fermo are about 30 minutes drive away
Responsibilities
We have one large Italian sheepdog, Freya (Maremma) rescued as a pup and is 12 years old. She is quite content to roam and guard the garden. She is fed twice a day, a mixture of dry and wet food and she is given oral medication for her arthritic hips at the same time. A sachet of Oki powder is sprinkled into her morning feed and spoonful of Tumeric paste *kept in fridge* is mixed in with her evening food. She has half a can of meat and a handful of dry food with every meal.
Our two other dogs, Scooby Doo and Nell, will be accompanying us on our trip in the camper.
We also have six (mainly outdoor) cats (all rescued) who have access to the property and dry food via cat flaps. We feed them wet food twice a day, if they are around. Starlight, Nala are the oldest and stay mainly around the property, Cappuccino and Pootie are never far away and Bubble and Squeak are the youngest and tend to stay out. The garden may need strimming depending on the weather but not essential and if we have vegetables growing you will need to water if required and are welcome to help yourself.
Our car can be made available for use if required.