Pet sitting as a way to do scoping trips?
Posted by Educational-Tip-4430@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 2 comments
Hello!
I'd love to immigrate abroad but I wouldn't move to another country sight unseen ever again (that worked only once out of 4 moves so I'd rather do scoping trips).
I love animals and traveling so I wonder if maybe I can unite my two passions and look after people's pets while I get a feel of a country as a way to save on hotels/hostels?
Does someone here house/pet sit abroad? Is it easy to land a house sitting gig in the EU as an EU citizen, say a few months in advance? What if they cancel on you?
I really think walking around with a dog would tell me more about a city than walking alone. Many local people open up easier when you're walking a dog. Also, it will show me how people react to you walking a pet, whether there are suitable parks available, etc. I wouldn't even take a job in some countries that are known to have lots of aggressive feral dogs but honestly I'm not interested in visiting such places anyway. For me societies that let dogs live on the streets and throw them away just like that are not healthy ones, even if the COL is low.
In fact someone in my home country and city (Sofia, Bulgaria) was killed by a pack of feral dogs and this tells me my country isn't a good place to live in, with or without pets. Oh and often small dogs get killed by larger dogs here. Just in the past few months one Yorkie was killed and another one got seriously injured by someone's large dog wandering around without a leash.
And that's one of the many problems, there's also bad healthcare, unreliable public transport (if you live in the suburbs of the city so you have to use a car), it's the country with the most car fatalities in the EU, toxic work environments are the norm, etc.
Anyway, as I will most likely scope the places alone looking after a pet I won't be lonely. Heck, even if it's not a dog but a cat or rabbit walking alone outside would be less of a downer knowing I will go back to a fur baby. I've also thought about things like Workaway or farm stays but they're all far away from the cities and you need a car for them. Has anyone done pet/house sitting abroad and used that as a scoping trip of a culture?
wanderingdev@reddit
I've been pet sitting for 10+ years, mostly in Europe. There are some non-UK pet sits, but they're pretty rare and HIGHLY competitive. As a new sitter you would be unlikely to get one. If they cancel on you, you make different plans at your own expense.
Most sits will also be pretty far away from cities and you might need a car. You are also primarily there for the pet(s) so you have to be willing to give up any other plans you have if necessary to care for the pet.
There are apps where you can borrow someone else's dog to walk/play with so that might be a better option as it'll let you go to the cities/areas you actually want to visit, not just to places that happen to have a sit but may be far away from where you actually want to live.
As far as dogs in bulgaria, yes, it's a serious problem there and generally in that region of europe. I've been an active financial supporter of Bansko Street Dogs for years and volunteer when I'm visiting. They're doing their best but nothing will change until the bulgarian mindset about neutering dogs changes. :( until then thousands of unwanted dogs and cats will be born and abandoned each year on the streets.
Educational-Tip-4430@reddit (OP)
Thank you, for some reason I didn't get a notification for your post. I appreciate the insider information. 🙏