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It's been a long time since you were last away, and you are excitedly planning your dream holiday, when you realise that your house will be left empty, and you need someone to look after your home, pets and garden.

 

Traditionally, you would either have a friend or family member take care of things, or you would lock up the house, board your pets, and hope the garden was still alive when you got back.

 

These days there are a lot more options for both. For the home, there are automatic lights, automatic lawn mowers, automatic watering systems and electronic doorbells. For your pets, you can take them with you, book them into pet hotels, board them, organise pop-in visits or arrange a house sitter.

 

Taking your pets with you can be great fun, although it does depend what type of pets you have and where you are going - dog walking through the alps is much easier than horse riding through Paris. If you are going abroad, make sure you know all the legal requirements (passports for example), and have dealt with them well before you leave.

 

Pet hotels offer a home away from home for your furry friends, and often have a collection service too - you will need to book early and start saving, as they fill up quickly and are not the least expensive option. 

 

Boarding kennels are normally focused on a specific pets, so if you have several types of pet, you might need several different establishments. It's a good idea to get a personal recommendation from a friend and potentially set up a trial visit before your holiday.

 

For some birds, reptiles and fish, daily pop-in visits may be all that is needed to keep them happy - as long as you trust someone with your key and are sure they will be able to check in daily. 

 

Professional house sitters are relatively new. In return for somewhere new to stay and a daily fee, they will look after your home, pets and garden so that when you return, everything is as it should be. 

 

Consider these questions to help you plan your getaway:

 

How long am I away for?

Can I get back easily if there is a problem?

Who will I trust to keep an eye on my home?

How can make my home look lived in?

Who can look after my pets?

Will they have room?

What will it cost?

Do I want someone to enter / stay in my home?

What jobs need to be done while I am away?

What needs to happen if there is an emergency?

What checks do I need to do on the people I will be trusting?

What is my backup plan if things go wrong?

 

These questions are just a starting point. Let’s dig a bit deeper.

 

Pets

Do your pets get stressed when you are away?

 

Every pet has their own quirks: what they love, what they hate, what they are scared of and when they might misbehave. 

 

Some pets adore going to someone else's home or boarding facility. In my experience though, these are in the minority, regardless of how good the care is (and quite often the care is outstanding). Most of my pets start to mope when the suitcases come out. Once I’m away, some have refused to eat, others have soiled their bedding and one decided to chew everything they could find - including the bed, the bedding and the entire wooden trim around their room. Most pets will be far happier with someone who knows what to expect, and is able to offer a personalised service. Your pet is able to stay in familiar surroundings, following their normal routine even if it is with someone they have just met.

 
 

Capacity

With the increase in pet ownership over lockdown, and the huge desire to travel once restrictions were eased, there are capacity issues at all pet-related venues including vets, day care and boarding facilities. If you are going away, you will need to book a LONG time in advance to make sure that your pets have somewhere to stay while you are gone. 

 

When my travel plans changed last minute, I was left madly calling round to try to find space for all my pets, eventually travelling over an hour from my home to make sure they were all appropriately cared for while I was away.

 

Some pets are easier to find carers for than others. It can be challenging to find an appropriate carer for large pets, reptiles, pets with medical needs and pets who need constant attention / stimulation for example. Preparation is key. You need to find suppliers you are happy with well in advance of needing them. This also gives you the opportunity to set up a few trial runs before you leave, so that any issues can be ironed out quickly.

 
 

Cost

Having one pet looked after, or someone to water the garden, or a neighbour who will make the house look lived in are all relatively simple to organise. But what if you have a home, a garden, two horses, three dogs, a diabetic cat, four chickens and an iguana? The costs mount up quickly, especially if you need to use multiple providers. It may actually be better value to have someone live in, and be you while you are away.

 

Jobs

You do hundreds of small jobs every day – many of which you are not really aware of. For example, bringing in the mail, watering the garden, turning on the lights, feeding the birds, closing the curtains, cleaning up a spill, tidying up a room and taking care of your pets.

 

Apart from keeping everything running smoothly, these jobs also make your house looked lived in, deterring unwelcome visitors from ants to burglars.

 

Having someone living in, means that these small jobs will continue to be done, and with some providers, you also get decluttering and cleaning services as an optional extra, meaning that you come back to a cleaner, neater and more organised house than the one you left.

 

Emergencies

What happens if something goes wrong with your home while you are away? Once, when we were abroad, our water tank burst leaving water and mould everywhere for us to deal with when we returned, jetlagged, from an otherwise perfect holiday. 

By having someone living there, unusual drips, strange smells, power outages and boiler woes can be dealt with at a far earlier stage, reducing both cost and your stress levels on your return.

 

What happens if something happens to one of your pets while you are away? Many hotels and boarding facilities have their own vet on-call, but consider whether it would be better for your pet to visit their usual vet.

 

By leaving comprehensive notes, you can ensure that your normal emergency contacts, including the plumber, electrician, gas engineer, builder, vet, out-of-hours emergency numbers, and information on any background or pre-existing conditions are known, so that any emergency can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

 
 

Security

Aviva data reveals July - September is a hot-spot for UK home theft claims that occur while people are on holiday - an increase of 48% compared to other months of the year. This claim is based on UK home insurance claims data from 2016 – 2021, relating to thefts involving violent / forcible entry to a property. 

 

As a minimum, you need to think about lights on a timer, perhaps a radio on for some of the day to make some noise, a home security system, and ideally make sure that someone is taking care of the mail / deliveries / bins and potentially curtains for you. This is a good start, but a home that has all windows closed during a heatwave, where the plants are obviously not being watered or the grass is up to your waist or the snow has buried the door, and the lights come on at the same time every day is still an obvious target.

Having someone living in the house, reduces the likelihood of your home being targeted by burglars. The garden will be cared for, the mail will have been dealt with, deliveries will have been accepted, and there will be random movement of light, windows, curtains and car to show that someone is there.

 

If you are going to be away for a while, remember to check your insurance policy. Some policies are invalidated if there is no-one living in the property for an extended period. Exactly what that extended period is varies quite a lot, so start checking if you are away for more than two weeks.

 

In today’s digital world, remember not to post on social media that you are going to be away, or send pictures from your holiday. Wait until you are back, so you don’t welcome trouble to your home.

 

Choosing a provider

With all the options available, selecting who will be taking care of things for you while you are away can be a challenge:

 

1) Is there a friend or family member who can look after things while I’m away?

2) Can I meet the person who will be working for me?

3) How long have they been doing this job?

4) Do they have a DBS certificate?

5) Can they give references?

6) Do they have insurance?

7) Do they offer introductory sessions?

8) Do they have a license, and is it in date?

9) If not in my home, are the facilities clean, dry, draught-free, secure and warm/cool?

10) What exercise will they offer my pet?

11) Can my pet act normally here?

12) How much time will they spend with my pet?

13) How will they check on my pet?

14) Will my pet be kept separate from other species (cats from dogs, mice from snakes)?

15) Did they ask me for proof of vaccination?

16) What if someone is ill?

17) Did they ask about my pet's diet and health?

18) Can they accommodate my pet’s medical issues?

19) What training do they have?

20) Do I trust them?

 

Over the years, I’ve used all the strategies and services to take care of my home, garden and pets when I was away. There have been some brilliant successes (the house was spotless, the garden was blooming, the dog bonded with their carer, the cats barely noticed I was gone, the chickens laid their full quota of eggs), and some dreadful failures (the ceiling fell in, the garden was crispy, the dog was traumatised, both cats refused to eat, the chicken carer turned up midday or later), and hopefully, this article will guide you away from the failures and help to make sure you are able to have that amazing holiday you have planned, safe in the knowledge that all is well at home.