Laid back in Mount Martha, Melbourne

Our sit in Mount Martha was the only one we did during our stint in Australia that wasn’t for friends.

It was also ‘different’ for us because we met the homeowners, Rose and Cassie, in person at their home in Mount Martha before the sit. It was just after we arrived in Australia in February but our house sit for them wasn’t until April. We discussed the requirements of the sit and care for the animals and were given a set of house keys. This was the first, and only time, we saw Rose and Cassie as they were departing early in the morning on the day of our arrival. They were also returning home after we had left the property. We kept in regular contact and provided updates and photos during their 8-day break via WhatsApp.

Our normal routine is to be at the home before the owners leave and do a handover to them once they return home. However, due to circumstances this wasn’t possible in this case. We did get a lovely surprise when we arrived as they had left us a bottle of wine and some chocolates which were greatly appreciated. 

Our location for this sit was in a stunning location. We had lovely, elevated views of Port Phillip Bay and a short drive to the nearby Mount Martha beach and shops.

Our furry family was two pussy cats, Jemma and Guava, and a dog – Billie.

Jemma was an older cat – 18 years old.  She spent all her time in the master bedroom and during the day we opened the door to the balcony where she would find a sunny spot to sleep. Twice daily Jemma required medication to be applied to her ears but she never made a fuss.

Jemma had an unusual habit as she liked to drink water from the shower floor. During the night if she got thirsty she would meow, so we would need to get up, run the shower for 10 seconds and then Jemma would go in and ‘lick’ the water off the floor!

Guava was a younger cat and had only been with the family for a few months and was not allowed outside in case she ran away.  Whilst Guava would spend much of her day looking out the window, she didn’t make a ‘dash’ to the door whenever it was opened. She was quite a chatty and affectionate cat. We hope it won’t be too long until she’s allowed to go outside!

Billie was a 16 year old Golden Retriever.  She was a lovely girl and spent most of the day lying/sleeping on her doggie bed. At bedtime she would come into our room and sleep on the floor beside the bed.

One or two short walks a day was required for Billie, nothing longer as she was arthritic, but at the same time it was important she got exercised.

As we have discovered with Golden Retrievers, they ‘love’ their food. 5pm was Billie’s dinner time but from 4:30pm she was up and pacing around, walking to her dog bowl and then back to us. She was as subtle as a sledgehammer.

We enjoyed house sitting on the Mornington Peninsula and taking in the stunning sunsets from the verandah, but our time in Australia was quickly coming to an end.  

In a few days we flying to Spain for a house sit in Valencia.

What the home owners said – “..Glenn and Jacqueline were fabulous. We have elderly animals who needed much care; medicine, pampering and slow walks, and Glenn and Jacqueline were beautiful with them …”