House Sitter in Mill Valley, California

My wife Tara and I live on the Coast of Maine. I am a retired classical concert pianist, and Tara works extensively in website design, project management, and software quality control. She is also the Medical Assistant for a Trauma Neurologist in Kentfield and San Francisco, and she leads hiking tours for the Sierra Club. When we are not traveling we live a quiet life spending as much time as we can at home. We have just completed ten pet- and house-sitting assignments in the San Francisco Bay area since the beginning of this 2017 (four of them in Berkeley, near Grizzly Peak), and over half of them repeat assignments) - and one more before January 1st. In the past year alone we have card for homes in Berkeley with nine chickens (a-laying), two elderly Australian Shepherds, a tank of guppies, and a cat; In the Mission for a terrier, cat and lizard; In Mill Valley for two cats and a Parrot; in Kentfield with 3 cocker spaniels; Berkeley and ‘our’ Mini Labradoodle service dog, Zorba, ; in Walnut Creek with a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever champion show dog (who swam laps in the pool for 3 hours a day); In Napa for two rescued mixed breeds and a Siamese cat. From December 24th through January 5th we will again be in SF caring for ‘our’ terrier Currie - again a repeat sitting and then in Berkeley for two house-sits one without a pet, and the other a repeat in Berkeley with Zorba. In all of our times caring for dogs in the Bay area, we have taken our pets on long walks and hikes, often twice a day, in Mt. Tam, Tilden and Mt. Diablo State Parks, on dog friendly beaches and, if the family agrees, the pets have come with us in the car for walks further away from home. We love playing with our adopted pets much of the day, always a very important experience for us - indeed, we miss them all terribly. We actually have gone back to play and hike with a number of ‘our’ pets. I grew up with and spent most of my life caring for dogs of diverse breeds and ages - Dobermans, Great Danes, Malamutes, a Bernese Mountain Dog and others, many have been rescued and older dogs and maintaining their health and happiness is a deeply important mission for both of us. I also owned cats, lots of cats. (At one time we had 20 cats and kittens as we would only give away a kitten if we knew and trusted a new owner.) I kept aquariums both inside and out for 25 years, and had a pet duck for 5 years, sharing her eggs. We have attended to every aspect of the health and wellbeing of our pets. Tara has long experience caring for pets and our long walks with our dogs are a highlight of her day. We know the Bay area extremely well. My two older sons have worked at Pixar Animation Studios for 18 years creating all of their animated classic films since Toy Story 2 - Finding Nemo, Up, Inside Out, Brave, Monsters Inc. Coco, Cars, etc. - and we have cared for both of their homes (and pets) multiple times every year. We are, in fact very seriously considering moving to the Bay area as soon as we can - with luck within in the next few months, perhaps living on a sailboat. For over 45 years I have managed every aspect of maintenance and security of our home, gardens and extended 26 acre coastal property in rural Maine, and Tara has organized and implemented essential operations in this care since 2000. Having also lived concurrently both in the heart of New York City and in our home in Long Island, we are very much at ease with larger suburban population centers. We are skilled in the special safety and security requirements both for a private home itself, and for the pets we care for. We are also very careful, precise and experienced about security and house cleanliness and maintenance, tending gardens and all else. And, I can promise that one of us will be home snuggling with your pets for a good part if not most of every day. Please let us know any questions you might have. We would be available for a phone or FaceTime call at your convenience. I hope we can create something beneficial for you in the caring for your pets and for you home. Take care. Lorin and Tara