Holy smokes, you guys — that was an overwhelming response! I made the mistake of cross-posting my pet-sitter post yesterday in three different groups, and within hours, to my surprise, there were hundreds of messages and comments. There's no way I can actually respond to everybody, as much as I'd really like to. And then it occurred to me that with AI I could make this pretty efficient for everyone — so welcome to the new pet-sitting landing page I came up with this morning with Claude!
A little about me: I'm a huge animal person. I grew up on a farm with hundreds of animals — we always had three dogs, a barn full of cats, some geese, horses, the whole thing. So even as the years go by and my obsession with travel grows, if I'm not around animals I start feeling pretty funny about it pretty quickly. Which is why, despite it being totally nuts with my lifestyle, I'm the proud mom of Sophie the doodle and Alice the cat — and will probably become the proud mom of a Greek Shepherd rescue later this week too.
Eighty percent of the replies asked the same thing: when do you travel? The honest answer is that my dates surface out of the blue — but here are the two I already know about.
Aug 26 – Sep 7
A short trip to Spain.
In your care: just Alice — Sophie is still at Grandma's in Massachusetts.
Siargao ✨
Helping develop a wellness-focused beach club built on blue-zone principles. Could be one month, could be two — I don't know yet whether I'll be needed.
In your care: Alice for sure — and Sophie too, if she's made it home from Massachusetts by then.
Getting Sophie home. Sophie is currently at Grandma's in Massachusetts, helping her feel better after the passing of our family dog Muppet. Soon though, she'll need to make her way back to Greece — ideally with a flight nanny who can accompany her in-cabin on the journey over. If that could be you, choose The Flight Companion below and mention it in your note.
Below are the three ways someone might fit into this. Read them, then tell me which feels like you. You can pick more than one.
You come to my home when I leave and care for Alice & Sophie in their own space — no shared living. You genuinely love being around animals. Pre-screened, with references.
You already work remotely and would take the second bedroom — easy to share space with, tidy, contributory. You'd help with guesthouse turnovers and cleaning (paid), and if you're in wellness, possibly co-facilitate retreats here. We're planting a garden too, if that's your kind of thing.
For longer trips — say, to the Philippines — airlines allow one pet per person, so I sometimes need a second traveler to escort Alice or Sophie. Flights and a few days' accommodation covered. No stay required beyond the trip itself.
The estate is four bedrooms of stone overlooking the water. One half is a wellness-themed guesthouse — sauna, cold plunge, jacuzzi, and professional PEMF therapy on-site. Life here is slow: dog-friendly beach clubs, olive groves, local wine, farm-to-table food, and island calm away from the crowds.
My girls are Alice and Sophie — a dog and a cat, and genuinely family. When I travel, I need people I trust completely: to care for them, to look after the home, and sometimes to help me run the guesthouse next door. My trips aren't scheduled far ahead — I often know only a few days out, and I can be gone two weeks or two months.
The two who'd be in your care.
A beautiful cockapoo — a poodle and cocker spaniel mix — and a very lucky dog (we're just as lucky for her). Happiest on a boat or in the bedroom with the AC on.
She's particular about her food: the bulk of her diet is something homemade, usually chicken, rice, and sweet potato, sometimes fish. She doesn't love strange sounds — she'd really prefer the wind not bang at the windows or rustle unexpectedly through the trees.
A little timid around other dogs at first, though she warms up — especially to a fellow poodle. She has never bitten or snapped at anyone or anything, and I don't expect she ever would.
The queen of the house, and quite possibly the most beautiful cat anybody has ever seen — most people fall at her feet within minutes. A very powerful creature indeed.
Not much for cuddling most of the time, but she sure does love to eat. She keeps an eye on things in her own way, and loves to come to the door to greet you when you get home.
She enjoys playing with Sophie — but does not appreciate other cats.
I chose Messinia on purpose. I was looking for somewhere with water security and real farm-to-table food, room to plant a garden, and a community who's in touch with the land. Very little crime. An older, slower way of living, away from the modern hustle, away from data centers, and away from the constant non-native EMF I'm genuinely sensitive to. It's about as close to that as I've found.
As for me: alongside the tech, I've always had a foot in holistic healing. Eleven years ago I invented the first wearable red-light therapy wrap and got swept down the road of developing cutting-edge biohacking devices and building a company. When the pandemic hit, the business took over, and my hands-on healing practice moved to the back burner.
Now I'm starting to bring it back together. I still love my tech, but what I'm pivoting toward is building community and working in person again with retreats and workshops. Breathwork, sound healing, meditation and movement were the whole point before the company swallowed my schedule. If you're a wellness person, there might be a way to align forces beyond pet-sitting.
The home and the life around it — western Messinia, more or less as it is day to day.
Sits might be possible across my other properties over the year — The Aurora Residences. If everything lines up, these are my other homes. Right now they're offered as private wellness residences for short-term, wellness-inspired stays — but sometimes we check ourselves in and switch "home" for a while.
This helps me sort the right people into the right list, so when a trip comes up out of the blue, I know exactly who to reach.
