Xmas pet sitting golden retriever and social Burmese cats in gorgeous Wellington, New Zealand

Details

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  Description

  I'm looking for a fab, animal loving sitter to look after my golden retriever George, and 3 burmese cats over Xmas from 20 December 2025, to 5th January 2026 . In terms of cats: they are burmese. Super social and love being with you, around you, on the bed with you.
  
  Georgie is a gorgeous boy. He is sociable, well trained, well behaved, and a dream from an on/off leash-walking and recall perspective. He had a pretty crappy experience at the vet a few years ago, and 2 years ago was attacked by a pitbull on a walk. This has left him with a few things that can make him a nervous (such as strange dogs leaping in his face unexpectedly, or people he doesn't know grabbing for his head). We've done load of work with Georgie, and he is now a happy, well-balanced boy who maintains his equilibrium by orderly structure, manners and 'rules'!
  
  I'm a single woman who runs one of New Zealand's largest digital agencies. I love art, travel, cooking, gardening, reading and socialising. And adore my fur babies. I've had plenty of Workawayers before including when George was a baby puppy, and I had 'puppy au pairs' (mostly digital nomads and working travellers) come and stay for a few weeks each at a time so that he had company during the day when I worked.
  
  JUST YOU! HOUSE RULES
  I'd prefer a single, or a couple. No smoking, no drugs, no groups, no parties in the house. Absolutely no-one other than the sitters in the house. As a heads up I have outside security cameras but no internal cameras.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  Animal Care

  House sitting
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Newtown / Berhampore is a lovely quirky part of Wellington with pretty old villas and a great community feel. I have lived in Wellington for 25 years and love this city. I always look forward to showing it off and am happy to help out with suggestions of what to do or where to go. I know a lot about the New Zealand digital sector and am happy to provide advice or help to people wanting to get established there.
  
  And if you love animals - great place to be.

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  Help

  House sitting, looking after Burmese cats and George the golden retriever, and garden watering.
  
  Firm dates - 20th Dec 2025 to 5th January 2026. I am going to Vietnam so will be out of the country but I have close neighbours who will be there for help if needed.
  
  You must genuinely love both dogs and cats. Enjoy sleeping with a pile of cats around you. And I need someone super experienced with dog handling. George the golden has had a couple of bad experiences, and because he is so chill most of the time it can be hard to see when he is actually not OK. I need an experienced dog handler who doesn't just love dogs, but understands them! Ideally you have enough of a background in dog behaviour to see when he is uncomfortable and needs space, or is looking relaxed! This means no dog parks or dog beaches, but there's loads of fab places around Wellington you can take him.
  
  Ideally you have had an anxious or reactive dog yourself, been a volunteer with dogs for a shelter, or run a dog walking business, worked in a dog daycare facility or a vet clinic, and / or have experience with dog training or behaviour. You can tell the difference between a relaxed dog who is standing quietly, and one who is frozen. If you are experienced with anxious dogs, he is super straightforward, has clear rules that work for him, and you will have a lovely time with him!
  
  Loki (one of the cats) has a half pill daily or every second day.
  
  GARDENING
  I have a lovely garden which will die a miserable death if it isn't watered regularly in the peak of summer. I've had sitters before who have promised faithfully to water, and come home to crispy plants that were obviously given a whisk over with a hose a nanosecond before I got home. It's not an enormous garden but it will need watering so any sitter needs to be prepared to water pots every couple of days, and set the sprinklers going down the back a couple of times a week.
  
  Be clean and tidy and respectful of my home and neighbours. And ideally able to tell a wilting plant from one that doesn’t need water!

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  The house is chocolate-box-pretty. It's a lovely sunny, renovated double bay villa close to the #1 bus route, and within walking distance to the Newtown and Berhampore shops. Also close to town and sea. It has just had a major designer kitchen renovation so it has a brand new crazy-fancy new cook's kitchen. Awesome appliances. If you like cooking you will love it. I provide a big house manual on how to use it all. Not everyone has dealt with a steam oven! Big open plan kitchen / living / dining area with comfortable furniture and lots of artwork.
  
  I've got good internet and a load of TV subscriptions all accessed via Apple TV. In summer it has a pretty garden, two decks outside with outdoor furniture and a barbecue, and is a lovely place to hang out.
  
  The guest bedroom (for you) is very pretty with a comfortable queen size bed, has a front bay window and is sunny all year around.

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  What else ...

  Newtown is a great area - good walks and mountain biking around here, some fun cafes and bars as well. Really easy to get to Te Papa or other sights or to Wellington central.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Really good internet. I've had plenty of digital nomads house sit before and my regular sitter (not available over Xmas) pretty much changes her other sits based on coming to my house instead.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  

  Lily B (9 years)

  Lily B is a perfect princess. Very pretty. Very sweet. A bit spoilt. Somewhat dramatic. She was the target of relentless bullying and attacks by a neighbourhood cat until recently which turned her into a nervous wreck. She's only just started to come back to her normal self. This includes smacking poor Loki when she walks past him. I might add this is because he has given her a few thumpings.

  

  Loki (9 years)

  Loki is a 9 year old lilac burmese. With three legs. He hops around cheerfully and has been seen climbing trees and on the neighbour's roof. A friend who is a vet told me that cats only need 3 legs and a spare, and it's true for Loki. He's a cheerful wee chap and loves being around people. He and Lily B have a slightly fractured relationship as she's never got over her shock at seeing him with 3 legs (not 4).

  

  Luna (16 years)

  Luna is the grand old lady boss cat of the house. Despite being 16, and very slow and arthritic she can still get her frisk on with the other cats. She ends up being everyone's favourite because she is the most smoochy.
  
  Luna might need pain meds administered in December but we'll see how she is going.

  

  George (8 years)

  Georgie is a gorgeous boy. He is sociable, well trained, well behaved, and a dream from an on/off leash-walking and recall perspective. He had a pretty crappy experience at the vet a few years ago when he had a major gastro issue and two nurses put him in a headlock from the front while the vet examined him which left him completely traumatised and for a period not letting strangers near him. Then 2 years ago he was attacked by a pit bull on a walk. We have done LOADS of work with him since then and he is a happy, balanced boy who loves people and is social with dogs. But it has left him with a few things that can make him a bit nervous (such as strange dogs leaping in his face unexpectedly). He manages this with structure, manners and 'rules'!
  
  Because he is so chill most of the time, I need an experienced dog handler who doesn't just love dogs, but understands them! Ideally you have enough of a background in dog behaviour to see when he is actually uncomfortable and needs space.

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