Whilst Africa Travel can organise everything for your safari adventure, have you thought about who will look after your pets and home whilst you are away?
Travelling long-haul often means people are away for much longer, which can make finding someone to look after pets more difficult. Whilst family and friends can be called upon for short periods of time, when it comes to a few weeks at a time people are increasingly turning to live-in homesitters.
One company who has been providing home and pet sitting services for over 35 years is Homesitters Limited. They take care of everything back home whilst you are away and ensure you can go off and enjoy your holiday of a lifetime with complete peace of mind.
The company offers backup for all their homesitters on assignment 24/7, 365 days a year, meaning that there will always be someone on hand should an emergency arise with your home or pet whilst you are away.
What is a homesitter?
Homesitters are professional people who come and live in your home when you go on holiday to look after your home and pets. Typically, homesitters look after dogs and cats, however they will also look after more unusual pets such as reptiles, rodents, horses and llamas…….in fact just about any kind of domestic pet.
Most dogs and cats especially don’t like being away from their home environment and it can cause them a great deal of stress, meaning you could come back to a very unhappy pet.
Employing a homesitter lets your dog or cat can stay in their home and not have their routine disrupted. A homesitter sticks to the usual feeding times, play times and walk times, plus will carry out any other requirements, such as grooming or giving medication. Older animals may need extra care or even trips to the vet, all of which a homesitter will do.
Security can be a big worry for people when they go on holiday. Around 10.2 million adults, or one in five Brits , claim to have been a victim of burglary and leaving your home empty when you go away can make it more attractive to an opportunistic thief.
A homesitter will look after your home and ensure it looks occupied, helping to prevent a burglary. With lots of people travelling long-haul to warmer climes during the dark, winter months this can be even more important, as burglaries tend to rise during the winter.
During longer holidays there is a higher chance of burglars noticing patterns, such as neighbours popping in to feed the cat or water the garden. This can make your property more vulnerable to being burgled.
Having a live-in homesitter reduces the chances of this happening considerably, as homesitters are only allowed to be away from the property for three hours at a time during the daytime and one hour in the evening.
Insurance companies are usually happy that a householder has someone looking after their home, rather than leaving it empty. Home insurance tends to only cover being away from the home for a limited period of time, so anyone taking an extended long-haul holiday may find they are not covered.
It is important however to let them know that you are employing a homesitter, just to avoid any issue if you need to make a claim for something that happens when you aren’t there.
A homesitter is also useful should anything happen whilst you are away, such as a burst pipe, falling trees or a smashed window. Having someone who is able to deal with the situation immediately can save money and damage to valuable belongings.
So whilst you are busy looking forward to your next safari adventure, don’t forget to think about your home and pets back home and make sure they are safe, happy and well-looked whilst you are travelling.
If you would like a chat about using Homsitters Limited's services or would like them to find a homesitter for your next holiday, please give them a call on 01296 630 730 or visit their website at www.homesitters.co.uk.
