This was our first sit we got via the Dutch platform www.huizenoppassite.nl and our second sit in The Netherlands. We had a video call with Eva and Thijs before we agreed on this sit and we were glad we went to Almere, of all places!
Eva and Thijs have 2 children, Aimee and Elia. Elia was just 3 months old and Aimee was almost 4 years. Before Aimee had to go to school, they wanted to have some quality time outside the school holidays and Eva, Thijs, Aimee and Elia went on holiday for 3 months.
We had the pleasure to look after a big, beautiful and easy going dog named Saar(tje) and 2 beautiful Maine Coone cats, Charly and Bowie.
The cats are indoor cats, so the only thing we had to do was giving water and food, clean the litter box and made sure they didn’t go outside. Charly was more playful and curious compared to Bowie, but they both came sitting close to you during work or while we watched TV.
Saar was very gentle with people and she loves attention from children, but she could be aggressive towards other dogs. That’s why we only let her off the leash, if we had a clear view and were sure we saw no other dogs. We took Saar out for a walk/run 3 times a day, but she was very easy with the times. There was no fixed schedule and we could leave her 10 hours alone inside without her starting to bark or pee. While we went out to visit places, we always left some cats and dogs relaxing music on. We also took Saartje several times with us to the supermarket and to a restaurant with an outside terrace.
Saar and the cats lost a lot of hair, so we hovered every other day. That said, it’s a quick and easy job. Other duties were watering the plants and inform Eva and Thijs when there was mail.
The house was just 1,5 year old and had everything to make this stay easy and comfy during the cold, wet and windy winter months. There was floor heating, all the necessary kitchen appliances, a spacious bed room with a very good bed, a nice and spacious bathroom with bath and upstairs a workspace for 2 and a sports corner with some weights and a mini multi exercise gym.
We walked, ran and cycled in the province Flevoland and we went also several times to the indoor pool, 1,5 km from our stay, for our swim training sessions. Almere itself is a new city. It doesn’t have an old city center, but it has many parks and off course water everywhere. There’s 150 km of dikes where you always have the connection with the water and of course with the wind.
We really loved this sit, because of the comfort of the house during the winter months and also because of Saar, Charly and Bowie. We had a lot of fun with them and we can say that Saar exercised enough to leave her in a good condition. We definitely can recommend this sit to other sitters. Don’t hesitate! We definitely would love to come back in the future if our calendar and the one from Eva and Thijs will match.
