Simon & Katharine (Kathy)

Experienced Pet owners – new to advertising our services to be a House/Pet Sitting couple

Simon: 59, Retired – 32 Years in UK Diplomatic Service followed by 10 years as a Bursar in an Independent Boarding School in East Anglia

Katharine (Kathy): 62, Retired - Former member of the UK Diplomatic Service followed by many years as a Learning Support/Teaching Assistant in a number of schools overseas and in UK.

We are a well-travelled couple, having lived overseas in a number of countries, taking the opportunities of extensive travel regionally wherever we lived. We have lived in West Norfolk for the past 10 years.

Kathy grew up with family pets and also spent much time around horses, at one point thinking of becoming a riding instructor but chose another path. Despite this, Kathy has maintained her love of horses and many things equestrian. Simon grew up with family pets, but with his career we travelled and moved home between overseas/UK postings every 4 years or so, so having pets was difficult.

We inherited a cat in Turkey for 3 years before passing him onto a Danish Embassy colleague who took the cat back to Denmark to retire eating fresh herring! In the USA we had a rabbit. We also took on a wild Hong Kong Alley Cat that needed a home upon our arrival in Hong Kong. We passed him onto another family after 4 years when we left. We have looked after many colleague’s pets and then on our final posting to South Africa, knowing we were coming back to UK for good, we took on a rescue Terrier cross (Scruff) and got a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy (Louis) from a local breeder. We brought both dogs back with us to UK in 2012, losing Louis in 2017 and Scruff in September 2023. Our house is not the same without them. We then took on a re-homed female Dobermann (Kitty) in 2017 but unfortunately, we no longer have her. Since being back in UK full time we have also looked after a number of friends’ pets. We also stop to get our “doggie fix” whenever we pass dogs when we are out and about.

We are keen to embark on a new journey/adventure, including seeing more of the UK and further afield. We love travel, meeting people and animals, so we thought subscribing to House Sitters UK might allow us to do all three, now we are retired.
Simon is very practical, from a house-sitting perspective, having followed a technical/specialised career in his first 20 years in the Diplomatic Service, needing to turn his hand to many trades in that role. If ever there was any form of household emergency, whether plumbing, electrics, IT or a crisis of any sort, Simon has the experience to deal with it calmly and proficiently. Kathy, is also practical with a very calm demeanour. She is excellent with animals (and children!), and gets on with everyone she meets.

We both have full, clean UK driving licences, are non-smokers, are responsible, practical, active, have a good sense of humour and will enjoy all aspects of caring for pets as well as enjoying exploring new locations. We both love dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and within reason (in terms of numbers and duties), horses and donkeys. We are not averse to taking care of other animals as long as we receive the necessary instructions.

We hope the above introduction and the selection of animal related photos from the years gives you the reassurance we are trustworthy, honest and caring towards animals and peoples’ property. Your pets, home and belongings will be looked after to the highest standards. We can also provide regular updates (ideally via WhatsApp) if desired.

We don’t expect financial payment for our service, accepting such an arrangement is mutually convenient; you go away safe in the knowledge all things are being cared for; we get to stay in nice properties free of charge whilst being able to explore and experience new places surrounded by pets.