"Put the lime in the coconut ... Doctor! Is there nothing I can take?"

As volunteer house and pet sitters with TrustedHousesitters, we take our responsibility seriously. Most homeowners put their pets as the priority over their homes, but we make sure to care for and respect both.

Frankie, who really needs to get that ear fixed!

Although we've now done many house sits, today was the first time we've had to do a visit to the vet. Whenever possible, we will make sure the decision is not ours. We feel our task is to keep the pet owners well-informed, so they can make the decisions, and we then take direction from them.

Teddy, our older friend, a wire-haired fox terrier

Teddy hadn't been well just prior to our arrival, with digestive/intestinal issues, and so we updated the pet owners each day after they left. Thankfully they're Apple users too, so iMessage worked for us, as we can't get phone reception here. So, they booked a visit to the vet for today and off we went. Thanks to the homeowner's directions, we didn't even get lost ... although we did leave LOTS of time to get there, just in case :)

Greg looks more concerned than Teddy to me!

The vet needed to take blood and stool samples, and Teddy was wonderful and didn't flinch at all. Greg was grateful HE didn't pass out, as he tends to do that at the sight of blood :)

Thankfully, the vet thinks it's not too serious and that he is on the mend. He gave us feedback about how to manage him until his owners return. I then updated the homeowners, including a photo to reassure them that all is good.

A print seen at the vet's office today

While we waited in the vet's office, Greg and I were coming up with captions to add to this photo. Mine was "get this kid off me", and Greg said "OK, I'm ready for my ride". A great distraction.

So, for those who think we are "so lucky" to get free accommodation in exotic locations ... think again! Our first priority is taking care of the pets ... and then enjoying the warm sunny weather in the Caribbean! We love it though, and are happy to be reassured that Teddy will be OK.

Reminder: We have the prior approval of the pet owners to post photos.