Maris & Merilyn

Dear owners,

We have over 35 glowing reviews accross three housesitting platforms and we would be thrilled to share our other profiles with you so you can rest assured we are experienced, qualified and trustworthy.

I'm Maris (34), and my partner in this great housesitting adventure is Merilyn (25). We are Brazilians, and we hold a work visa in New Zealand, therefore allowed to housesit. We have been housesitting since 2020 and we have never had one single night without a housesit since we decided to pursue this lifestyle full time (a whole year in New Zealand living amazing, unique experiences through housesitting). We are both financially stable and able to rent a place of our own if needed, but it just never happened as one sit leads to the other and since there are two of us we can split up if necessary - which is also a guarantee to the owners in case of an unforeseen circumstance such as a missed flight. We even housesat in our own city in Brazil when we spent three months visiting friends and family because of the famous word of mouth.

Maris manages her family rental properties in Brazil remotely whilst Merilyn is attending online education. We are both really easy going and relaxed and we follow a healthy lifestyle. We don’t smoke or drink alcohol, we keep to ourselves a lot, we like meditating, yoga, going to the gym, swimming and hiking. We enjoy reading books, flying our drones and going to food markets. We adjust our routines to the pets we are taking care of each time. If they are outside, self sufficient cats: then we do more sightseeing. If they are energetic dogs: we take them for hikes. If the dogs are older and quieter: we stay home more and get more work done. No matter the dinamycs, we take our housesitting commitments seriously as if it was a job since in the end it pays for our accommodation needs.

We are experienced with cats, dogs, kittens and puppies, birds, large aquariums, rats, rabbits, geckos, chikens. We have also cared for farm animals during a paid housesit on a lifestyle block. We have done multiple long sits (ranging from 2 to 5 months long), many usual month long sits and even shorter ones. We have cared for multiple cats at once, cats that were on medication or had special needs. Some of the dog breeds we cared were rottweilers, german shepherds, retrievers, dalmatians, labs, rough collies, border collies, huskies, goldendoodles, terriers, bulldogs, staffies, boxers, huntaways, greyhounds, poodles, dachshunds, schnauzers, cavoodles, chihuahuas (and the list keeps getting longer). We have cared for dogs that needed medication, 2 hours of exercise a day, full on puppies, senior dogs unable to go for walks anymore, incontinent dogs, etc. We adjust to whatever routine or care our furry friends need. We have also had the experience of looking after the owners Airbnb whilst doing a housesit for extra remuneration. We have been in charge of gardens, vege gardens and lawns (electrical and ride on mowers), as well as swimming pools.

Our first experience with housesitting was as owners when Maris hired a housesitter in Brazil to stay with Tequila (cat) and Belinha (poodle) whilst she had to go abroad for work for 3 months. It was a big, hard decision to make but the whole experience was excellent. After Tequila and Belinha passed of age we decided to try housesitting ourselves and here we are!
We absolutely love housesitting because we get to live like locals, have a comfortable/safe/private place to stay, see places we probably wouldn't as a tourist, and own a pet for a while. We truly make a connection with the pets we care for and when the sits are long we usually grow a relationship with the owners as well since we are in touch a lot, and because of that we have done a few repeat sits in both London and New Zealand. We stayed for an year in Christchurch, New Zealand, where we did multiple housesits and we would regularly meet up with previous housesit owners for doggie dates (bringing our current housesit dogs to meet at the park, woods and beach) as we enjoy building connections.

We believe we are great sitters because we get along so well as a team and we put our hearts and energy into everything we do - and our reviews can reflect that. We really take the time to meet the pets we look after and enjoy their company.

We are also extremely clean, tidy and respectful of the owners home and belongings. We will keep in touch as much as you want us too - happy to send you daily updates with pictures if desired or to stick with "no news, good news" policy.
Maris has lived in London, Denver, Boston, Toronto, Vancouver, Dublin and Rome, and has backpacked through 45 countries so far (and counting). Merilyn worked at her family's dogs & cats groomers for years. She has experience dealing with large and small dogs, disabled cats, anxious dogs, friendly and not-so-friendly cats. She’s also worked as a professional dog walker in Brazil and in New Zealand. Whilst in London in 2021, Merilyn volunteered at a local city farm cleaning stables, feeding the animals, and assisting with school workshops. She volunteered mainly to improve her English but she could have done it anywhere else - but she chose a farm because she genuinely loves being around animals. Merilyn has had rats, rabbits, birds and fish as well.

Maris is a very caring person, very down to Earth and responsible. She is the one who will be making a list of duties and checking each item each day of the sit. She will never forget to water a plant, to feed your pet at the exact right time or to send you updates and pictures - as often as you'd like them.

Merilyn is the active and fun part of our pair. She will be the one chasing your cat and walking your dog for an hour in the morning. She can’t go to bed until the house is clean at the end of the day.
We are both loving and affectionate and will make sure your pet has enough cuddles whilst you are away - we are here to spoil them. We also understand the amount of time we must dedicate to being home with your pets, playing or just keeping them company.