We are looking for a dog/home sitter who can take care of our dog Polo. Our house is located on a hillside in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. We have a good view of San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, and downtown San Francisco.
The area is surrounded by what is known as the Marin Headlands and the GGNRA (Golden Gate National Recreation Area), as well as Mount Tamalpais, a few miles away, which provide endless opportunities for walking and biking. There are numerous good restaurants in downtown Sausalito as well as elsewhere in Marin County, and, of course, in San Francisco. Unfortunately the local movie theater closed a couple of years ago. It is expected to be reopened under new management, but probably not in time for your stay. But there are numerous movie theaters within easy driving distance in Marin County and San Francisco. There is also frequent bus and ferry service to San Francisco. We would prefer a sitter who has his/her/their own car, but would consider lending our 2011 Volvo V 50 station wagon provided the sitter has adequate insurance and driving record.
We have had Polo for two years. According to his papers one of his parents was a pure poodle and one was a mixture between a golden doodle and a labradoodle. He looks an awful lot like a poodle. On a normal day we walk him from the house twice a day around a short loop which begins with a steep down hill stretch, then continues with a more gradual uphill stretch and concludes with another short downhill stretch back to the house -- in all probably 1/3 mile. Once a day we take him to a local park where he can hang out and run with other dogs. He loves to run and is a joy to watch when he is doing it. Late at night we take him out in our back yard for a short visit. Polo travels well in a car, and we would expect that our sitters would take him with them if they were gone for more than 2-3 hours. For short times alone in the house, we put up a wooden child's gate which keeps him in half of the house. Polo is good with most dogs -- especially black dogs and dogs that look like him -- but he can be obnoxious with dogs he doesn't like -- mainly incessant and very annoying barking. He is wonderfully affectionate with people, adults and children alike, but he does tend to jump up on people when they first come to the house, so we sometimes put him in the crate when newcomers arrive so he can calm down, then let him out and introduce him to people.
As for other responsibilities, the major one is taking out the trash, garbage, and recycling each Wednesday night so it can be collected.