Meet Beverly Belury | International Pet Sitter

Here’s the truth: You don’t know until you go.

That was the risk we took when the possibility of traveling the world by pet sitting was an option for us. We asked a ton of questions, research the bejeezus out of it, asked friends and family and actual pet sitters what they thought.

It just came down to the fact: You can’t really know what it might be like unless you are on the field giving it a try. So off we went. Deciding to mitigate some of the risk by: going local – having the assignments within driving distance, taking on a few very short pet sits, limiting the number of pets.

From there we used a concept we used in our own business: Create and then adjust til it feels and performs they way we want it to.

We fell into our retirement “career” of full time international pet sitters. The idea of pet sitting our way around the world showed up as I was browsing the internet. We had designed our retirement to spend a month in various cities/towns, starting off in Rome, Naples, Palermo, Marrakesh and Agadir. It was exciting and fun but something was missing. We were getting a bit edgy and found out that we were not great tourist.

We have traveled from the US to Australia, Asia, Europe, and Mexico caring for all sorts of pets, from dogs and cats to horses and alpacas. Pet Sitting internationally is on the rise and is available to any one of any age, especially seniors, for any destination, full or part-time. All it takes is love of travel and a love for pets. We are retirees traveling the world, living our best life.

And the biggest surprise ….we have traveled around the world at a fraction of the cost of what it would have been if we didn’t pet sit. We are living on our fixed income without tapping into our retirement principle. Travel is richer but costs less! Much less.

The best advice for an itinerary is to find your own by asking, listening and observing. The most exciting people are the locales. What to do is find a cafe, hang out, smile and chat with those who are around you.

That’s how we find out about the hidden places, the best area secrets and the most unusual activities in town that are perfect for us.

Fortunately we took the sweet pups we were caring for to the Monday morning coffee at The Church of St Peter & St Paul in North Curry, Somerset, England (It dates from the 14th century). We found out about the bell ringing practice that night. And I had the experience of ringing the old, many ton bells. And yes, I forgot to let go of the rope and up, up, up I went (iconic in a way)

(Bells have rung in North Curry church since at least the reign of Henry VIII. Half of the current bells are already over 200 years old.)

Oh BTW Geocaching is a fabulous way to find what locales consider the most precious or memorable spots in the town. It was the best way for us to enjoy Melbourne, Australia. We didn’t have time to research the place so we went geocaching and quickly found some of Melbourne’s secrets.