Get to Know Us!
Hi, we’re Austin and Jori! When we first met, we immediately bonded over our shared passion for travel. It became a goal of ours to take off on a big adventure around the globe one day. Little did we know our dream would soon become reality, but with an unexpected (and adorable) twist. You guessed it, pets! Read more about our pet-sitting adventures below.
While searching for adventure, we found something even greater…
We always knew that travel would play a key role in our story, but we didn’t quite know when or how. It was the year 2021, and we wanted to travel more than ever. Unfortunately, being in the middle of a pandemic didn’t make that goal all that achievable. During the time before our adventures began we were both working 9-5 jobs. Things were going well, and we were ‘climbing the ladder’ so to speak. We were fortunate and content, but we couldn’t shake this feeling that we weren’t where we needed to be.
As the months passed, we figured we may as well prepare for the day when, hopefully, borders would reopen and travel would resume. Or maybe it was more like obsessively, because it began to feel like we had explored every option out there!
We considered cramming our entire life into a van and hitting the road, Au Pairing for affluent families, getting a holiday working visa and venturing to the Land Down Under, teaching English to children in foreign countries, and of course, hopping from one hostel to the next with all of our belongings crammed into a single backpack.
While some options seemed better than others, nothing truly stood out to us. Until one seemingly unimportant, and what felt like an exceptionally cold and gray day in Central Oregon, yielded a life-changing discovery. As Jori was scrolling through Google search results, she stumbled on a blog post about a website that allowed pet owners and pet sitters to exchange “pet care for free accommodation.” With a worldwide presence, this platform presented sitters with the chance to explore over 130 countries by pet sitting. What was the name of website? TrustedHousesitters, and it seemed way too good to be true.
Initially, we thought, “This has to be a scam…. right?” Unable to avoid the temptation, our curiosity got the best of us, and we began researching the platform’s legitimacy. A few hours later, and everything was seemingly checking out. With years of pet care experience already under our belt, we felt that this could be the perfect way for us to travel the world on a budget. We dove in head first, starting with a house sit here in Bend, Oregon. Three months later we found ourselves on a tiny Carribean island, mixing up dinner for a dog and two cats, with views of the Grenadines straight out of our kitchen patio. From that day on, we knew we were hooked.
Over the span of nearly two years, we had the privilege of pet sitting in 11 countries around the world! Our adventures took us to amazing destinations all over Europe, North America, and even SE Asia, where we realized that this opportunity offered so much more than a chance to save on hotel costs. From one sit to the next, we formed deeper connections with people and pets than we ever anticipated! The lifestyle taught us the true meaning of community, paved the way to new friendships, and led us to discover an untapped-passion for working with animals.
Throughout our time as full-time traveling pet sitters, our friends and family continued to ask, “What's next? What will you do when it’s time to come home?” “Will you get traditional jobs again?”
We always were nonchalant when people asked us this question. We were confident that we would figure it out when the time came. At least until we were alone with our thoughts, at which point we would realize that we had absolutely ZERO idea what we were going to do next. But even in light of those late-night thoughts, we knew deep down that our path would reveal itself when the time was right.
Fast forward to today, and the time to come home is upon us. We’ve recently returned to our home state of Oregon and for the first time in a long time, we are actually planning to stay for awhile. Without fully identifying it, we realized that throughout the past two years as traveling pet sitters, our future passion had already revealed itself to us! Our adventures abroad taught us how to deliver the 5-star home and pet care series across a diverse number of different cultures and environments. We realized, why not offer that learned experience to our community in Bend, Oregon? So, we decided it was time to offer our professional home and transition from “Nomads and Pawpads: The World Traveling Pet Sitters” to just, “Nomads and Pawpads: The Pet Sitters”.
Our decision to settle in Bend, Oregon, wasn't just about coming back home; it was about sharing our love for pets and community with fellow pet lovers in THIS community. As bitter sweet as this transition has been, we are thrilled to be able to offer Bend's pets and their owners with the same exceptional care that we've delivered around the world.
More about us…
Both Oregon Natives- we grew up within a couple hours of each other. Jori’s childhood was spent growing up in Monmouth on a game-bird farm. She was constantly surrounded by pets of all species and breeds, never opting to come inside unless she absolutely had to. Austin spent his childhood in Portland. Between school, a packed schedule for baseball, and family time, Austin’s spent whatever spare time he could playing and cuddling up with his cats.
Prior to our adventures, Austin worked as a professional Landscaper, and Jori in social media marketing and customer service. While traveling, we collaborated on brand development and content creation while pet sitting full-time! All of that changed recently of course when we returned to Bend and began offering up our pet care services here.
A few other quick facts about us- we LOVE cooking good food. We spend an excessive amount of time planning our next meal and we are not ashamed to admit it. We strongly believe a good glass of wine and a good view can solve all problems. We find pleasure in the outdoors, hiking or going on long walks. Some of our favorite hobbies include photography, reading, writing, sports, gaming, and spending quality time with the family.