Christie & Dave

Hi, I'm Christie, from Wellington.
Since 2015 my husband Dave and I are fortunate to have done more than 30 house and pet sits throughout the world, most via the Trusted House Sitters website, but in the last year also on Kiwi Housesitters. Sits have ranged from three days to two and half months, and I can honestly say that with every single one we've treated them with care, attention and respect, because we take housesitting seriously. Every one of our reviews on Trusted Housesitters and Kiwi Housesitters is five star; here's two of them from TH, and you'll find the rest at the end of this profile:

"Oh my goodness - where do we start?! We love Dave and Christie, they were excellent in every way: Mia was so well looked after, and had such a nice time with them (they even made her a toy and got her some spanking new dinner bowls) she was clearly disappointed at our return! The house was left completely immaculate and Christie had baked us a gorgeous chocolate cake (divine!). Dave and Christie are the people that make being a member of this site so fab! They are 100% welcome back any time! Thank you guys!"

"Christie and Dave were fabulous. They took excellent care of our cats, kept us updated, and left our place immaculate. We would love to have them come and sit again and can't recommend them highly enough!"

After six years abroad in Europe, South America, Asia and most recently in Hoi An Vietnam, we returned to New Zealand in October of last year. We've been housesitting because we realised when we got back to New Zealand that having sold our home we didn't need to settle anywhere, and there was a lot of New Zealand that we hadn't really visited properly. Put that together with getting to care for lovely pets and it was a no-brainer. So we are still in travel mode, fully vaccinated, and ready to travel anywhere in this lovely country of ours!

Before traveling, we were homeowners in Hataitai Wellington. It was a beautiful home; we were there for 20 years and had many people in to mind our home and pets, so we understand your need to feel your home is in safe and capable hands, and we take that seriously. As cat owners/slaves for many years, we know this is even more important for your animals as they may need more than just physical care but love and companionship too.
We take the care of people's pets and homes with gratitude and responsibility, and our aim is to have you return home delighted.

We have had so many cats in our lives. Back when we were '9 to 5ers' we were a three cat household. Once these precious ones passed we decided to travel but before we left we used our final weeks to foster kittens and a traumatised adult female cat who needed socializing, and lots of patience. (We succeeded, and found her a lovely home through an SPCA adoption event).

As house sitters we have cared for people's homes around the world and while we have specialized in cats, we are happy to care for dogs too. Among our experiences we have cared for two beautiful ginger blind boys, helped to socialize very shy cats, and walked two very determined rescue dogs twice a day in the Singapore humidity. In Spain for over two months we had the privilege of fitting in with the routine of a particularly gracious female cat. Housesitting has offered us the chance to see the non-touristy side of the various countries we've visited.
Outside of our house sitting commitments animals still rule! Dave and I rescued a kitten in Bali, had her injuries fixed, neutered, socialized (taught her to play soccer) and found her a forever home. While in Thailand we provided supplemental protein for stray cats in Chang Mai and for five months in Hua Hin I volunteered twice a week at an elephant rescue sanctuary.
As we were in Hoi An for longer than we thought, we volunteered at Vietnam Cat Welfare and for over a year were regularly helping by cleaning around and caring for 100 cats of varying needs in the sanctuary. Through this organization we also have fostered two very sickly kittens who we kept alive until they thrived and now are together in a forever home. Our final foster with this organization was a traumatized calico female who become a trusting sweetheart, and found a loving home.
*****
GENUINE REVIEWS from Trusted Housesitters

"Christie and Dave were ideal petsitters! Dusty was well looked after and spoiled with food and plenty of affection. The house was cleaner than I left it and they even washed the bedsheets so I had one less job to do when I got back. They're incredibly easy to get on with and sent updates daily even though I was only on a short trip—can't recommend these guys enough!"

"If you are looking for the most caring people for your fur-babies...look no further! Christie and Dave were phenomenal! They are an extremely nice and fun couple who absolutely love animals. Consider yourself very, very lucky if they apply for a sit for your fur-babies...and grab them quick! Your fur- babies will be very happy you confirmed the sit with them!"

"I was lucky to have Christie and Dave housesit for me and look after my little cat Diamond and other feline waifs and strays who needed feeding as well. They were absolutely wonderful, sent me updates with photos and I returned to a much tidier flat, shed and garden. I knew Diamond was in safe, caring and loving hands and I hope they'll be around to look after him in the future. I highly recommend Christie and Dave as superb housesitters who are very committed and respectful of every house rule. Thank you so very much!"

"Christie and Dave were a wonderful pair of housesitters! Cat loved them, neighbours loved them and we loved them!"

"Both Christie and Dave are wonderful and extremely interesting people. They were both so thoughtful and updated me with everything that was going on while I was away. My cats are generally quite shy, but seemed to really warm to them - they are patient and true animal lovers! The house was just as I left it - everything was absolutely perfect, thank you both again! I can't recommend these kind and caring people highly enough! :)"

"Christie and Dave couldn't have been better house sitters. Lovely people, very organised and were happy to fit in with my awkward plans on the day we left and having to pop back two days later to swap suitcases (away for a wedding and then a holiday). They were great with regular communications and photos of our fur babies and the cats were really happy upon our return - they clearly had been looked after very well and our house was immaculate. Wouldn't hesitate to have them sit again and would highly recommend them to anyone. Thank you both"

"I cannot speak highly enough of Christie and Dave. My two cats loved them and even the stand-offish little madam quickly came round to them They kept me up to date via email and from the pictures it was obvious that I wasn't being missed at all! On top of that Dave did a couple of little jobs in the house and even picked me up at the local station when I got back (thanks Dave for being a porter!). The house was left immaculate and my only problem was dealing with two sulking cats who now want to emigrate to New Zealand! I would have no hesitation in recommending Christie and Dave to anybody needing a reliable and safe pair of hands for their house ands pets and I wish them well in their ongoing travels".

"As soon as we met Christie and Dave we felt we were leaving Daisy and our house in safe hands. They exude capability and we felt extremely comfortable with them, in fact we feel we have made some new friends. When we returned both Daisy and the house were as we had left them and we were kept updated with lovely photos of Daisy which we love as it gives us peace of mind whilst we are away. I would highly recommend Christie and Dave to anybody who wants their pets and home well looked after and loved. Thank you lovely people!"

"It's been an absolute delight to have Christie and Dave housesitting for us; they clearly love cats and I was more than happy to leave mine in their care. Really easy to get along with and super house guests, leaving everything as they found it. Christie cooks a mean blackberry crumble too!! Highly recommended. Thanks, both!"

"Christie and Dave were really great housesitters. They took excellent care of Mishmish and she was happy and contented on my return. Christie has green fingers which the plants in my patios really appreciated. Dave was more than helpful with small DIY jobs around the place. Christie and Dave sent me weekly updates with photos of Mishmish which put my mind at rest while I was away. The house was clean and tidy add with fresh flowers on my return. Christie and Dave provided a great service and I hope they might return!"