Doug & Marcia

ABOUT

Doug & Marcia are Canadians who retired early to a beach town near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Both are non-smokers.

Doug is a chemical engineer who ended his successful career in Houston as Director of Global Manufacturing for one of the largest international oil & natural gas service companies. He is a lifelong athlete and has participated in basketball at 3 World Masters Games. Doug is an avid photographer and enjoys travel, reading, hiking & cycling.

Marcia is a registered nurse who spent the majority of her career in mental health. She enjoys travel, hiking and trying out new restaurants. Marcia has been actively involved in several non-profit organizations, particularly cystic fibrosis. Recognition of her volunteer work includes the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Rotary Integrity Award.

Doug & Marcia enjoy spending time with family, especially their 6 grandchildren who include 2 sets of twins. They have owned several properties and are financially independent.

Doug & Marcia currently do not have any pets. However, they both had pets when they were children and when their children were growing up. More recently, they have cared for several pets while house sitting for friends and family.


WHY WE WANT TO HOUSE SIT

Since retiring early, Marcia & Doug have traveled 6+ months per year, on average. They have now been to 40 countries and 89 of the 92 provinces/states in Canada, USA and Mexico. What they enjoy most about traveling is having a home base at destinations that interest them. This allows them to explore the surrounding area and get a more complete travel experience. When Doug & Marcia travel, they avoid resorts and much prefer rentals (AirBnb, VRBO) or house sits.

As much as Doug & Marcia love pets and the joy they bring, their frequent travel makes it impractical for them to have one at the present time. As an alternative, they really like the idea of caring for someone's pet through services like Trusted House Hunters and House Sitters Canada. They believe it would be a win/win situation for the the pet, the homeowner and Doug & Marcia.


OUR EXPERIENCE

Doug & Marcia are both professionals and very responsible people. You can be assured that they won't let you down.

Regarding pet experience,
1. Marcia & Doug grew up with dogs, cats, hamsters, fish and rabbits.
2. They instilled a love of pets in their children, who had dogs, cats, rabbits, fish, newts and budgies when they were growing up. Now that they are adults, their children have continued the tradition and currently have pets in their respective homes.
3. Since retiring, Doug & Marcia have completed several house sits for family and friends. Most have included pets.
4. Since joining Trusted House Sitters in early 2017, they have completed 16 house sits and received 5-star ratings on all of them. Almost all of their 16 sits have involved 2 or more pets (dogs, cats & frogs).
5. Both Marcia & Doug have given insulin to a cat and other medication to both dogs & cats.

Doug & Marcia have owned several properties and made improvements to every one of them. They understand what is required to keep a house maintained. Doug is very good at determining the root cause of household problems and can fix many of them himself. They both enjoy gardening and small projects. They are experienced in maintaining hot tubs and swimming pools.

Living in Mexico has given Doug & Marcia some new perspectives on life. They have had to adapt to a different language, culture and how things get done. They have made some very good Mexican friends and have learned much from them. While not fluent in Spanish, they continue to learn and improve.

Doug & Marcia have rented almost 100 Airbnb and VRBO properties. They have earned an excellent reputation and have NEVER received a negative review. Listed below are a few of the many positive reviews that homeowners have given them.

1. Doug and Marcia are the most perfect and honest tenants. They left the place so clean that I feel bad charging a cleaning fee. Me being new to Airbnb, they also gave me excellent advice on improving my hosting but only because I asked. If you get a request from them to rent your place...definitely host them (Trevor - Fort Saskatchewan AB).

2. Doug and family were a pleasure to host. Easy and friendly communication, followed all house rules, and left the house spotless. Highly recommend and welcome back anytime (Krissy & Josh - St. Louis MO).

3. Doug and his Marcia were the perfect guests. They stayed at our condo for two weeks, and things couldn't have gone better. They very clearly communicated their arrival & departure plans, left the house immaculate, and even left us a gift when they departed. If they request a booking, I highly recommend you accept (Justin - Chicago IL).

4. Doug and Marcia were great guests, left the apartment in excellent shape. Excellent communication. I would highly recommend them as guests. Cheers! (Nuno, Lisbon, Portugal).

5. Doug and Marcia recently stayed in our Airbnb suite in Fernie, BC. They were wonderful guests - clean, quiet and very accommodating. You would not even know that guests stayed in our suite it was left so clean and tidy! We would highly recommend Doug and Marcia through Airbnb, and hope that they make their way back to Fernie again (Lois - Fernie BC).


PET CARE EXPERIENCE

Dogs
Cats
Reptiles
Fish
Small pets