Tag Archives: dogs

Lessons from house and dog sitting

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Mork

Mork

I’ve been home for almost a week after three weeks of house/dog sitting for Simon and Sarah[1. Sarah is Bill's sister, and Simon is Sarah's fiance.]. I was going to describe my times with Mork, but…no. I’ll just say that it feels good to sleep past 7am.

While I had an interesting time with Mork, I’ll miss his floppy ears, huge paws and awkward trot. I’m sure it won’t be my last time seeing him.

A huge thanks goes to Sarah’s mom and stepfather for taking the other puppy (Mindy).

What did I learn from that experience?

If you want a dog, watch a bunch of episodes of “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.” Owning and caring for a dog is a full-time job.

Get details of everything around the house. Here’s a list of questions to ask the owner.

  • Where can I go? What may I use? What’s off limits?
  • How do you work the electronic gadgets (TV, AV receiver, computer, etc.), dishwasher, washing machine, dryer?
  • What’s the WiFi password?
  • Who are the neighbors? Do they know about me?
  • Where’s the emergency shut-off for gas and water? Circuit breaker?
  • Is there parking enforcement?
  • When is trash day?
  • Do you want the plants watered?
  • Are you expecting important mail or packages?

House and dog sitting for three weeks

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Sunday evening, I started house and dog sitting for my friend’s sister and her fiancé (Sarah and Simon). They live near Victory Park in Pasadena.

This will be my first time house/dog sitting.

For reference, the name of the dogs are Mork and Mindy. :)

What’s cool?

  • I can essentially do anything I want in the house. I could even throw a party or two.
  • They left me “several” beers, along with some food.
  • Two puppies! They’re trained to go outside for “business.”
  • Large LCD television, DirecTV, surround sound, Sonos multi-room music system, Nintendo Wii (yay, Netflix!), 27-inch iMac.

What isn’t cool about the dogs:

  • The “sit” command doesn’t work every time.
  • They jump up to greet people, and sometimes nip.
  • Mork can jump over the 3-foot indoor fence separating the living room and kitchen.
  • They bark at anything. Squirrels (or chipmunks), birds, sounds of other dogs.
  • Mork is slightly destructive.
  • My first attempt to take both dogs for a walk only went 50 yards.

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