How I Travel the World as a Pet Sitter, and How You Can Too
As a full-time ex-pat or nomad, I’ve had to get creative about earning money and my accommodations. About four years ago I started pet sitting while living in Shanghai, during an odd period of housing instability. In exchange for accommodation, I pet-sat various people’s cats and dogs over the summer and fall of 2018. This turned out to be a great way for me to keep my overhead low and save some coins while building my freelance business.
From there, pet sitting turned into a lucrative and easy way to relocate or visit different locales on a budget. Since then, I’ve used pet sitting to visit or live in: Thailand, San Francisco, Playa del Carmen MX, Portland Or, and NYC, to name a few.
How I Got Pet-Sitting Gigs in Asia
Finding clients has largely depended on where I’m trying to house sit. When I started in Asia, I mainly got gigs through word-of-mouth and different social media groups. After creating a flyer, I dropped it into different groups on WeChat (mommy and me, vegan, animal/pet rights) advertising my services. I started around late summer, which is a time where many people in Shanghai are going or planning to go on extended holiday trips, so getting clients and lining them up for holidays to come, wasn’t hard.
This was largely the case in Thailand and Mexico, though my focus was mostly on Facebook groups for those countries. Groups like this one, were extremely helpful in finding clients. Upon finding a potential sit, I’d reach out via DM with information about myself, my background with animals and pet sitting, and why I’d be a good fit. If they’ve included anything about themselves or their pet, I try to make sure to call that stuff out in my initial correspondence.
Something like: I’ve taken care of 4 elderly dogs, so I’ll have no problem giving Pippa Pancake her daily diabetes pill.”
Okay, but what about pet sitting in the US?
Before deciding to pet sit in America, I decided to take a different approach. I’d been hearing about the site Trusted Housesitters since I got in the pet sitting game but was turned off by the price cause I’m a broke bish. Nevertheless, I saw how many people in my pet sitting facebook groups were BOOKED AND BUSY from gigs off that site and decided it would be money well spent.
So, after getting my hands on a 25 percent off coupon this past summer, I signed up–and boy am I glad I did. My first sit was at a “high-rise” in the heart of San Francisco–a location I’d not be able to afford, especially for over a month all on my own. That sit alone paid for the membership. The great thing about a pet-sitting agency like trusted house sitters is that they do all of the heavy lifting for you. If a person is on that site, you can guarantee that they’ve been vetted properly, including via a background check. I was also able to upload indie references from pet parents I’d worked for off the site.
Are there any downsides to pet sitting?
What many don’t know is I went indie as a sitter after an “agency” fumbled the bag. When I first started pet sitting in Shanghai, I worked with a small company that charged homeowners a fee, paying me a percentage as well. Around Christmas time they flubbed a house sit, telling me it was all a-go, when in fact, the pet parents hadn’t paid their fee and backed out in the end. Instead of taking responsibility, the company saw fit to “save face” and play the blame game instead. I was so annoyed with the situation–I mean, if you can’t be trusted to take care of the behind-the-scenes business, what do I need you for? From there I set out on my own, cutting out the middleman altogether.
I wish I could say this is where the dumb ish stopped, but no. Not soon after I started advertising my services around town, some ex-pat businesswoman offered to help me get sits. Now I didn’t necessarily need her help, after all, I am me, but I figured why not. Long story short, this bish tried to skim off the top, and play me like I was stupid. Nothing is wrong with wanting a commission fee, but be upfront, and not snakelike about it.
Other downsides are much more manageable, but annoying, nonetheless. It always feels a bit more like work when I go into a house that isn’t up to my cleanliness standards, doesn’t have pots and pans for cooking, or is a living situation I wouldn’t be caught dead in. Even with these mild annoyances, the perks of pet sitting WAY outweigh the cons, and I’m lucky and happy to have been able to carve out a little niche of my own that helps me to live the lifestyle I want.
If you want to get started in pet sitting and have no experience, I suggest offering to pet sit for a few friends or family members to get references. Other creative ways of building up animal care experience can include volunteering at your local vet or animal shelter. While I prefer longer sits of three weeks or more, if you are getting started with pet sitting, don’t be afraid to take smaller sits or gigs in less desirable locations.
Ready to get started as a pet sitter? Use my link for 25 percent off a membership with trusted housesitters.
