Hi House & Pet owners 😀👋🏼
My name is Niki and I have been a house sitter on the Mindahome website since March 2021. During this time I have completed many house/pet sits with 12 Five Star ⭐️ reviews on “Mindahome”. I also completed house sits with references on “The House Sitters” website, which I have been a member of since Sept 2019. I have also house sat for home & pet owners 2-3 times or more who are happy to be a phone referee. I also have my own house sitting Facebook page called “Kindly House & Petsitting” which you can google & watch my pet videos from previous house sits if you are interested 😊.
I am mainly a dog 🐶 cat 🐈 & horse 🐴 lover, although I don’t mind goldfish 🐠, birds 🦜, (ducks, chickens, parrots, etc) .I otherwise haven’t had much experience with other furry pets and I am not fond of reptiles, amphibians or insects, so won’t take those house sits sorry.
I am a non smoker, health conscious, and very responsible and trustworthy. I am also meticulously clean and tidy as I prefer to clean as I go on a daily basis. I treat all pets with loving kindness and value everything left in my care.
I also ask owners how they would like their pets & property cared for, including giving pets medications etc. I also send videos, photos and updates to owners about their pet while they are away to give them peace of mind. I will also contact owners if any issues arise that are of serious concern. If not serious, I will try to resolve it & just let owners know.
I am happy to do any reasonable jobs around the house including:
-watering plants,
- watering reasonably sized gardens
-raking leaves,
-maintaining pools (netting leaves, pouring salt/Chlorine, cleaning filter etc).
-if lawns need mowing while you are away & you have a very large property/huge back yard with a petrol operated lawnmower, can you please organise a gardener, thank you. Although if you have a medium-small sized grass area front & back of house & you have an easy to operate electric mower (Ryobi), then I should be ok to mow the lawns, thank you. Although if you can get lawns done before your house sit dates? That would be appreciated thank you.
Note: What I would appreciate, is if pet & home owners could please consider doing the following:
-Can you please leave your home in a clean & tidy condition before I arrive.
-Please provide enough pet food for the entire length of the house sit, or money if you think I may run out of pet food. It is easier to measure accurately how much pet food is needed, however if pet food runs out, and you need to send money, I will provide the receipt's.
-If you have food or drinks that are “off limits” please feel free to pack anything away or mention this in your house sitter notes.
-Please ensure there will be no other persons staying at your house or that you will not come back to stay during the confirmed dates of your house sit. However if this arrangement is included in your house sit, please let me know upfront, although I apologies that I am not the right sitter for you sorry.
-Please let me know if any (family, friend or service people) will be entering your property while I am there. Also their reason for coming and what day and time I should expect them. It may also be helpful to include their contacts, so I can organise their coming & goings from your property as well. Can you also ensure that all people servicing your property will behave appropriately with regards to their communication with me & their conduct while on your property. If they do not, I will let them know up front & I will let owners know immediately, thank you.
-Most Importantly: Please leave clear instructions in your house-sitter notes, in regards to the feeding & care of your pets.
-Please include which food, how much & when to feed your pets.
- If pets need medication, please write clear instructions of how to administer & please make sure there is enough medication for the entire house sit. During my initial visit please give full details on any dietary or medical/health conditions your pet may have, thank you.
-If dogs need walking, please include how often & the length of time to walk them.
-Please include your pets sleeping & toileting arrangements.( Kitty litter, cleaning & picking up doggy poo etc) Please also include the areas that are allowed or off limits for your pet.
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-Please feel free to lock areas you do not want me entering as well.
-Although owners will run me through ALL of these on my initial visit, I would appreciate the “main tasks” written down, so I can refer back to it, thank you.
During my initial visit or video call, please give clear instructions for operating house hold appliances & technology, including areas around your home & property that I will need to take “extra” care with.
For e.g opening doors/ windows or operating appliances that are fragile or tricky.
-On the House sitter notes, please also include your contact phone numbers, & “WhatsApp” as well please. This has been the most preferred & easiest form of communication, especially if you are travelling overseas.
-In case of emergencies & if I am unable to reach you, please include the contact number/numbers of a nominated (family, friend or neighbour) who will be my “emergency contact person” in regards to your pet & property. Can you please let them know that I "may" call them in an emergency during your house sit.
- Please also include your vet contact number & address thank you.
-If you are on good terms with your neighbours, please inform them, that I will be house sitting for you during your dates.
-If you have had serious issues or concerns with any neighbours, including excessive noise or problems with crime in your neighbourhood, please let me know during my initial visit. Also knowing what security measures you have in place would be greatly appreciated.
-Please include your wifi password thank you.
-Please also include what day to put rubbish bins out.
-If your pets are rescues or have behavioural issues:
For e.g (Dogs) nipping, unsociable, separation anxiety, lunging & barking at other dogs while out on walks, incessant barking, obsessions, peeing inside, timidity, chewing on things, fear of storms etc (Cats) Hissing, scratching, biting, hiding, indoors only etc. Can you please give me the full details. I don’t mind if your pets have these behaviours. I would appreciate knowing what to expect, so I can care for your pets accordingly thank you.
In regards to confirming house sits, I will not cancel with owners (once I have confirmed & committed to their house sit) unless the owner or myself absolutely needs to cancel for some legitimate reason. ie (owners) cancelled holiday etc or (myself) serious illness, or death of my close family or friend etc.
-If you need to cancel, or change your mind & choose another sitter that is absolutely fine & not a problem. Although I would appreciate knowing well in advance of your house sit start date please. Preferably not the day before, Thank You.
Before confirming a (first time) house sit, I prefer to meet owners & their pets in person at their home first. You may also want to see, if I am the right fit for your pets & home as well.
-If home & pet owners are out of the current area, I am also happy to meet through a video call.
-After my initial visit/video call, and if you are happy to have me as your sitter, you may send me an "invite to accept" your house sit on the Mindahome confirmation system. Once I accept your house sit on the website, then your house sit is "definitely" confirmed. A verbal agreement during my initial visit will not confirm the house sit sorry.
-Unless you are an owner I have previously sat for, I do not confirm house sits (via txt or messaging on Mindahome) prior to meeting any new owners sorry.
-Could you please keep your options open when finding a sitter? Just in case after my initial visit, one or both of us decides that I am not the right sitter for you.
Also if you are already meeting with a number of sitters, can you please let me know this upfront & that you will get back to me once you have met all of them? I will also let you know well in advance, if I need to cancel before or after my initial visit as well. Although once your house sit is accepted by me (on the Mindahome website) that means I have chosen you & I will not be cancelling,(unless I have serious & legitimate reasons to cancel) If this is the case, I will let you know well in advance, thank you.
-I also need to note: that the dates you give me for your holiday, are the dates I’m expecting you to leave & return please. If your return date changes & you are arriving back later or earlier, can you please let me know well in advance thank you.
- I also do not “expect” to stay on after you arrive home a day or so early, but I am grateful to those lovely home owners who let me stay (because they arrived back from their holiday earlier than scheduled). I also enjoy getting to know the owners better too.
Overall I have enjoyed looking after the gorgeous pets I have sat for so far. I do become quite attached to the darling pets I care for & I miss them very much after I leave Aww 🥰 I have enjoyed meeting & getting to know so many lovely & interesting pet owners as well.
I would like to thank all of my previous “house & pet owners” firstly for trusting me with your precious pets & home & having me as your house sitter.👏🥰 Also a huge thank you to those lovely home & pet owners. who gave me 5 star ⭐️ reviews & those who gave me amazing phone references. Wow!! I’m so grateful 😄 Also thank you to all the wonderful & generous owners 🥰who left me a clean house (most appreciated) gifts, money, flowers, chocolates, wine, brought me groceries 😲👏😀 or who let me help myself to anything. This makes me feel so appreciated & more than happy to come back & sit for you again.
About me, I have lived in Brisbane for 17 years, since Christmas 2008. Prior to house sitting full time, I worked as a Nanny/House Manager/P.A, a Singing Teacher, an Admin/Office Manager, an Entertainer for Aged Care. I am currently a full time house sitter, who is also a singer songwriter, (but not currently in the music industry yet)
Back in 2004-2005 I was a professional singer/songwriter in the music industry in my home country NZ 😆 You can Google my singing career under my name: “Niki Ahu”. Since living in Brisbane, I have been song writing for the past few years & only just found a really good Australian producer 👏😆😆 so the rest of this year should be pretty interesting music wise I presume 😆😆.
In 2006-2007 I traveled throughout the U.K & U.S in a music/performing arts group. My hobbies include, song writing, playing live music, house design & interiors, travelling, exercise, eating & cooking healthy food, family get togethers, camping, picnics on the beach, and going out for coffee at great cafes/restaurants with close friends & family.
I also enjoy putting owners at ease when they go away, then making them happy when they come home to a clean house & happy pets. If you think I might be a great fit for your home & pet, feel free to message me or check my calendar to see if I am available. I look forward to hearing from you 😄.
