The Good, the Bad & the Hairy
Honest sit reports: what delighted us, what unravelled and what followed us home on our socks.
Enter the column ↗Pet-sitting field notes · by Jackie & Jack
The Secret Life
of Pet Sitters.
The good, the bad, the ugly and the very funny—from borrowed homes, peculiar pets and everything nobody thought to mention.
Second feature · Eerwah Vale
Meet Red Dog.
He’ll bark if you lag.
Arrive at the Mount Eerwah parking area and the local dog known as Red Dog—or Rusty—may run out from the house across the road to escort you onto the mountain. Slow down and he has been known to bark encouragement.
The mountain sits in the background of our repeat Eerwah Vale pet sit with Charlie, Rouge and Echo. It turns out the neighbourhood has a memorable dog story of its own.
Read the Eerwah Vale story ↗Our recurring columns
The life of a pet sitter,
filed under peculiar.
Follow the bits that make you laugh, the bits that make you wiser—or all of it, from first key handover to the final load of hairy washing.
Cupboard Confidential
The mug, the kitchen and the tiny domestic clues that tell the story of each borrowed home.
Enter the column ↗Red Flags & Wet Noses
The awkward conversations, safety lessons and warning signs we will never ignore twice.
Enter the column ↗Between Feeds
Practical tips discovered in the quiet hours between breakfast, medication and the evening walk.
Enter the column ↗Creature Feature
One unforgettable animal, one peculiar habit and the humans trying their best to keep up.
Enter the column ↗GOOD SITS ✦ BAD SITS ✦ UGLY MOMENTS ✦ FUNNY CREATURES ✦ USEFUL LESSONS ✦
Latest from the field
Notes written
between feeds
Real stories, practical observations and the occasional confession from inside someone else’s kitchen.
All field notes →01
Between Feeds · 3 min
Beach life, between feeds
An ocean-view home, two dogs and a daily rhythm measured in sandy paws, toy negotiations and the next walk to the water.
↗02
The Good, the Bad & the Hairy · 6 min
Four returns to Eerwah Vale
Two German Shorthaired Pointers, one cat, a mountain outside the window—and a local trail guide called Red Dog.
↗03
Creature Feature · Video · 14 sec
The owners warned us — “He’s a Walrus”
Before the sit, the owners offered one unforgettable piece of advance information. The first video suggests they had a point.
↗The borrowed coffee-cup collection
Every sit leaves
something behind.
We photograph one coffee cup from every borrowed home. Each cup holds the memory of a pet, a place and something we didn’t know before we arrived.
Oscar’s retro cups · first collection entry∞ more cups to come
FIELD GUIDE 01The Pet Owner
The Pet Owner
Handover Checklist
□ Feeding & medication
□ Home routines
□ Emergency details
□ Departure checklist
EDITABLE · PRINTABLE□ Home routines
□ Emergency details
□ Departure checklist
FIELD GUIDE 02The Pet Sitter
The Pet Sitter
Red-Flag Guide
□ Questions before yes
□ Safety & boundaries
□ Meet-and-greet scorecard
□ Exit plan
EDITABLE · PRINTABLE□ Safety & boundaries
□ Meet-and-greet scorecard
□ Exit plan
Lessons you can download
Fewer surprises.
Better sits.
Our editable checklists turn lived experience into calm, practical conversations—for pet owners and for the people moving into their home.
Browse the guides ↗The community notebook
Every sitter has
that one story.
Tell us about the good, the bad, the ugly or the unforgettable. Jackie and Jack review every submission before it appears on the site, with identifying details kept out of the story.
Share your pet-sitting experience ↗