Caterina & Shai

> About us:

Caterina is from Germany and Shai is from Australia. We fell in love in Australia and have never looked back. We have a deep appreciation of the natural world, the environment and its conservation. We share a passion for travelling and are on a constant quest for knowledge. This is what drove us both to become scientists - Caterina a (general) biologist and Shai a molecular biologist.
We are reliable and caring, non-smoking, tidy and fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

> Why we want to house sit

We love animals. Caterina specialised in hydrobiology, marine biology and zoology and Shai worked at a veterinary school and has finished his PhD. We both grew up with pets (dog, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, fish, axolotls, birds,... ) and miss having them in our lives. As biologists, however, we are constantly on the move and don't want to cause distress to our companions. Therefore, we see housesitting as a perfect way to meet new furry friends and at the same time combine it with our love of travel and discovering new places. We moved from Europe to Wellington in April 2019 and have since moved on to Queenstown. We have since had two additions to our family (2 boys) who will be travelling with us.

> Our experience

We have previously looked after cats (incl kittens & elderly cats), dogs (incl. puppies & elderly dogs), chickens, ducks, turkeys, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, guinnea pigs, hamsters and fish (salt and fresh water) in various countries (Canada, Australia, all over Europe). We're used applying medications if necessary. In Australia we were especially active in looking after animals (since 2011). One year we took on 5-6 house sits, with each assignment of varying length (1 week - 2 months and once even for 1 year). These assignments involved feeding, walking, grooming and playing with the animals as well as garden maintenance (incl. pool care) and house duties. Caterina also does dog training if time allows and at the request of home owners.

We love being outdoors and we both have a green thumb. We have mowed grass, cut hedges, pulled out weeds and watered plants. Since we lived in houses with pools (mostly in Australia) for several years, we're quite familiar with the ins and outs of pool care too (spa pools and swimming pools).

We have great responsibility and show initiative.

We look forward to caring for your animals and home!