Lee

Hi everyone, my name is Lee.

I only speak English, but I do understand some basic Dutch and my wife is Dutch, so please don't hesitate to contact me in Dutch, although English is easier for me.

I am 56 years old and have over 40 years experience with animals; especially dogs.

I am semi-retired. I looked after young offenders and children with disabilities for over twenty years and now I am an artist who specialises in Pet Portraits. 

I absolutely adore animals and so does my wife. Unfortunately we just lost our precious cocker spaniel 'Jessie' after she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. We had her for twelve years and we are heart broken.

Jessie gave so much to us in those twelve years and she was not 'Just a dog' as people are fond of saying; she was a part of our family and we will miss her forever.

When I was younger and growing up with my parents, we had numerous pets. Two standard Poodles (Rusty and Gus), a miniture poodle (Whisky), a toy poodle (Nikki), a cat (Freida), a rabbit (Charlie), a rat (Mel) and a cockatoo (Rupert). We also had Koi Carp in a pond in the garden. So I have been surrouded by and cared for animals all of my life.

As an adult I have had two rabitts (Sammy and Josephine) and a cocker spaniel (Jessie).

Jessie had a hard start in life. For her first four months she was on a farm in Belgium. She was the last one of a litter. I didn't like the way the farm owners handled her, so we got Jessie out of there. We found out later that the farmer was drowning dogs that he could not sell in a river!!

Jessie was so nervous and traumatised that she could not even stand up outside. We cared for her, loved her and nurtured her into one of the most loving, trusting and devoted dogs that you could imagine. She had a happy twelve years with us. It was such a shame that she got cancer; she did not deserve it! We miss her deeply.

When I was younger we had a standard poodle named Rusty that was made to sleep underneath a mini in a garage by his previous owners. We rescued him, but due to all the rust and dirt from under the car he developed problems with his ears, which eventually turned to cancer. Rusty only lived until he was 18 months old, but he was happy and one of the most gentle big dogs I have ever known. I still miss him forty years later.

Having had one dog live until fifteen and then Jessie until twelve made me realise that I cannot go through the heartache again. However, I still want to be involved with animals as I adore them so much. So what better way to still be involved with them than by looking after people's pets when they need help.

I can walk your dog. Check in on your dog for feeds. Stay with your dog if you are away on business or vacation or dog sit your dog at my own apartment. I can bathe and brush your dog and administer medication if needed.

My apartment is situated in Rijswijk and is right next to a park and also a huge urban area and river. So rest assured, your dog will have plenty of walks and fresh air. 

The apartment has three balconies and is spacious. I have no children, so my attention is one hundred percent focused on your dog/pet. The apartment is clean and we are non smokers. Your pet can sleep anywhere in our apartment and if they have any preferences, we will have them covered.

I have plenty of doggie comfy blankets, throws and pillows and I allow dogs on the sofa, which will be covered in blankets.

I am very flexible and very approachable and prefer to do a meet up with you before I look after your pet. On initial contact with me via message on Pawshake, you can tell me about your dog. What breed? What temperament? Any special needs or routines and so on. A picture would be nice too.

I am using dogs as an example, but have no problem looking after cats, rabbits (and similar) and birds. I do not look after reptiles or spiders.

I prefer to look after small and medium dogs. I also only look after a maximum of two dogs at a time, although if it is three I can take a look and maybe we can make arrangements.

I can keep you updated with pictures, videos and reports on your dog throughout the day if you wish.

I will warn you that if you have a cocker spaniel, you may not get it back! Ha ha! Only joking of course.

I have walked a lot of dogs for people over the last 40 years and regularly looked after a friends dog at their house for one and two week vacations. My cocker spaniel Jessie had a lot of problems at the end of her life and I had to administer a lot of medication and apply cream and bandages. Our vet always said that we should feel proud of how we looked after Jessie. Even our vet and the staff were upset when Jessie passed because they knew how much she meant to us.

We have a lot of love to offer your pet. My wife absolutely loves animals too and you could not pick two more attentive and caring people to look after your loved one. We know how special your pet is to you and will treat it with the utmost respect, dignity and care. You can be safe in the knowledge that you have the next best person, other than yourself, looking after your pet. My wife works, so it will be me walking or visiting your pet, but for dog sitting, your pooch will have the benefit of my wife's attention too in the evening.

I live in Rijswijk. I do not drive, but I can get to the following places via local transport or bicycle - Den Haag, Voorburg, Leidschendam, Delft and all the surrounding area towns and villages. If you are not sure then you can always ask me. If you want me to stay at your home to look after your dog then I can travel further; such as Rotterdam, Utrecht, Leiden and other surrounding cities/towns.

You do not have to worry about me not driving as I have access to people who do in an emergency. I also have access to the best vet I have ever known and I always ask pet owners for all relevant information and contact details for their own pets vet as well.

I am a vegetarian and I despise racism, homaphobia/genderphobia or discrimination of any kind. I treat others as I would like to be treated myself. I believe that people should be who they want to be and the same goes for animals. I look forward to looking after your pet.

if you have ANY questions at all, please feel free to get in touch.