I am an ex-builder and handyman retired from my own small renovation and building business. I am originally from Finland but have been living in Australia for over 25 years and call it my home. I am reliable and responsible, house-tidy and a non-smoker. I love animals and spend much of my retirement time reading, online learning, cooking and catching up with friends and relatives online. Being an animal lover through and through, I really miss their company. Hence the pet-sitting seems like a perfect solution – hopefully for you too! 

I have had several pets throughout the years, the latest being two gorgeous Jack Russel terriers who were with me from tiny pups to great old dames, for absolutely great 15 and 16 years. My eldest suffered from various ailments especially towards the end, including blindness, so I became proficient with various medications, treatments and special diets she needed for her conditions. I also became practised in dealing with her limited mobility with extra attention and patience – so taking care of an older pet with special needs is absolutely not a problem. Although I have more experience with dogs, I have also lived with cats and happily look after them, too. 

I welcome pets to my home, where I live with my wife of > 30 years, Teija. She still works, but since the pandemic has been working mostly at home and is as much involved in looking after the dogs as I am, walking, feeding and playing with them and enjoying their company as much as I do. She is also happy to look after the pets on her own if I happen to be away house-sitting and one of our regular visitors wants to come around. 

Our place is an apartment in an inner-city complex with a balcony overlooking a quiet street and a fully enclosed inner courtyard with grass and plants for the residents and their pets. It is fully pet-friendly and nearby quiet streets with old terrace houses and an odd small park here and there provide a nice, relaxed environment for pet walking, not to mention Sydney Park with its vast expanses just a few blocks away. 

I am retired so am at home every day and even without a pet, take several walks around the neighbourhood each day. I am happy to tailor the walks to your pet’s needs, as short or as long as they are used to, but a usual minimum is at least three to four 20-min-walks per day. Knowing that for dogs these walks are not only about exercise but about socialising, reading the latest ‘pee-mails’ and meeting neighbours, I always have patience for their interests, their wellbeing being my highest priority.  

Dogs are more than welcome to sleep in the bed (that’s where our dogs graciously allowed us to sleep too) or can sleep in their own bed, as they prefer. I am also happy to look after more than one pet at a time, provided they are friendly with other dogs and get along. 

I prefer pets to be vaccinated and house-trained, and ideally get along with other dogs - there are a lot of dogs in the neighbourhood so coming across other dogs in our walks is inevitable, and many of them are curious to meet the "new kid on the block".

I am also happy to discuss looking after your pets in their own home if preferred, as that’s what I found to be the best solution for my own too – and look after the house and plants and garden too. For house sitting, I prefer an inner-city location in Sydney, but as I have a car, I can travel further as needed. The car I can take with me or leave behind as needed, depending on the parking situation.