Looking for a dog friendly room/apartment/studio/guest house for fall 2025

Description

I will be visiting Harvard University to focus on research with my former PhD advisor for the fall semester (Sep-Dec; evolution/genomics/speciation) while on sabbatical from CSU-Sacramento. I'm in my mid-40s, unattached to another human, but quite attached to a mellow senior pup (14 in human years, 98 in dog years) who will be coming with me. The pup LOVES other humans and has lived with other dogs in the past. At this point, she is very mellow and spends quite a bit of time sleeping, but still enjoys getting out for walks and small adventures. I lived in Cambridge from 2003-2010 and am looking forward to spending some time there again. I will be working during the week (mix of on campus and from home), but am hoping to catch up with friends I still have in the Boston area and I am also hoping to take weekend trips to old haunts in the north east. I'm somewhat flexible in what I'm looking for - a room in shared home, studio, small apartment or guest house - I can't really afford larger spaces, but could take care of them in a house-sitting capacity. I would prefer bright, clean spaces (e.g., windows), and want kitchen access to be able to prepare meals (stove/oven, refrigerator). Open to house sitting (plant and pet care). Intending to be rather low-impact. Since I will be working on the main Harvard campus, I'd prefer something in Cambridge/Somerville/Watertown/Belmont. I'm planning to drive out to the east coast, arriving the last week of August and haven't decided if I'll leave before Christmas or after New Year's, but am targeting a departure in late December/early January. I'm pretty mellow during the week. I enjoy getting out for runs during the week - I used to live across from the observatory and loved to run around Fresh Pond - and getting out into nature on weekends for hikes or other adventures. I grew up in the Sierra-Nevada mountains of CA (Yosemite!) and getting into nature is important to me to help reset on a regular basis. Sometimes I do yoga during the week. I recently took up sewing, but I don't know that I'll bring my sewing machine and all the accoutrements with me for just 4 months. Hmmm... what am I missing?