Our home is in the beautiful Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, surrounded by vineyards and small organic farms. We are half an hour’s drive from the capital Victoria, BC, ten minutes from Mill Bay and Duncan and five minutes from the quaint coastal village of Cowichan Bay. The house has a lovely view of mountains and farmland. We are on a quiet cul de sac.
We travel fairly frequently and currently are looking for a house and pet sitter from November 19th to December 09, 2019 inclusive. We have two Labrador Retrievers, Yani and P o, six years and eight months respectively and two middle age cats, Lorena and Rapha, who essentially look after themselves except for feeding and litter box maintenance.
The Cowichan Valley is an outdoor recreational hotspot with a multitude of cycling and hiking trails, golf courses, sailing and kayaking opportunities. It has a very benign Mediterranean style climate which enables year round outdoor activities. Average November-December temperatures are in the range of C with only occasional rainfall.
The house sits on a good sized lot, ~ one-third of an acre, and is surrounded by gardens. There are seven rooms including two bedrooms, a study, den, dining room, living room, kitchen, three bathrooms and a workshop. It is in excellent condition and is cleaned professionally every two weeks. Heating is provided by either electricity, or a propane fireplace in the living room, or a wood stove downstairs in the den. We have high speed WiFi and cable TV.
We would like the house/pet sitter to walk the dogs at least twice a day, i.e. for about an hour in the morning to a local park where they can run off lead, and again at the dinner hour for a shorter walk down our road and back. In between they can be let out in the yard for short periods where we have an Invisible Fence installed around the property. There is also a fenced in dog pen with awning and dog house where they can be kept safely outside while the house sitter is off the property. The cats require feeding twice a day and regular cleaning of their kitty litter boxes. In November-December there will also be a few plants inside requiring watering once a week.
A full service shopping centre is two or three minutes away by car or a five minute walk. It contains an excellent grocery store, coffee shop/roaster, work out facility, Italian restaurant, Chinese take out, pharmacy, book store, liquor store and variety of medical service providers.
If you are an individual or couple interested in this opportunity please send us a complete outline of your skills and experience, including relevant references. You must love dogs, be a non smoker and no drugs.