Cat Sitting in Parkville

I would highly recommend Tracey. She is kind, caring and easy to work with. This is the second time Tracey has come to stay with Boz. Like before, she was responsible, dependable, clean, self sufficient, and Boz was a happy girl when I got home. The garden was also well taken care of. Thanks so much Tracey. You are welcome back anytime!

Chris and Barb were great pet and house sitters! Our dog Arthur was sad to see them leave and us arrive! They left our home even cleaner and tidier than when we left, and we appreciate all they did to look after Arthur.

Brook was an awesome sitter! Super kind, communicative and organized. She sent us daily updates and left the place sparkling! We were away for our wedding and she left us a bouquet of flowers, which was a really thoughtful touch.

Richard and I are very happy that we chose Dara. We were very comfortable leaving our dogs and our house in her care for three months. As for every home, over this period of time unforeseen issues arose. Dara was very good at communicating with us and following up on our suggestions/solutions to resolutions. Dara is very reliable, calm and easy to speak with. Our dogs were well taken care of and, I’m sure, sorry to see her leave😊. We couldn’t have asked for a better sitter.

Amarilla & Tyler were FANTASTIC sitters. They took amazing care of my dog Bubba, send frequent updates and left my place absolutely spotless. I would recommend them to anyone looking for great care :)

Belle And Ross were lovely. They respected our home and took stellar care of Nigel. Sent a picture the first night. They stayed over an extra night and Nigel even chose to sleep with them instead of of us. He was very happy.

When we select a sitter, we read every review in addition to conducting some sort of video interview. We really rely upon the experiences of past hosts, so that’s why I believe it important to be honest in this review. I love giving out 5 star reviews and do quite frequently, but I also need to share any less-than-positive experiences as well for those hosts who rely upon reviews such as we do. As such, I’m a bit ambivalent about writing this review of Katie, as there were some really good things Katie did while here. She is a lovely, energetic woman who responded immediately to the concerns I voiced to her during the time she watched our pets; however, the “negatives” we experienced speak to the heart of the importance of having a dedicated pet sitter. For the most part, our home was left tidy and neat – which is no small feat as ours is a large house and I appreciate the care Katie took in ensuring we walked into a clean home. That said, Katie failed to notice my dogs had urinated in both of their dog beds and on the floor of our downstairs office, which we believed happened in the first part of the sit and resulted in the downstairs smelling of stale urine. Further, because she didn’t notice the urine, my pets, when downstairs, had to either sleep on the bare floor or in wet beds, neither of which is a satisfactory option. Also, my dogs don’t generally urinate in the house as they have access to a doggie door, and this seemed more a sign of their distress or discomfort. I believe this incident was part of a larger problem I experienced with Katie and that was in the manner in which she approached this sit. I advertised dates of July 6 – July 22. We generally ask our sitters to come in a day or two early as to walk them through the schedule for both our animals and our many plants, as well as to give them time to get to know the animals and experience a little of the town we live in. We also provide a very detailed introduction and welcome guide which outlines our expectations. Katie came in late in the day on the 7th, without personal transportation, which necessitated us picking her up and then my neighbor taking her to a rental cart company the next day because we left very early on the morning of the 8th. This abbreviated introductory time didn’t allow us to fully prepare Katie for the sit and allowed for some apparent “misunderstandings.” The “issue” for me was for the first five days of our 13-day trip, Katie was away from the house for up to 13 hours at a time – leaving our two, older rescue dogs, who have some separation anxiety - alone and with an extended time between meals. It was clear Katie was using this opportunity to visit many of the beautiful areas which surround where we live – hence using our home as more of an Airbnb to vacation – than a house sit dedicated to caring for our animals. Our dogs are fine with being alone for up to six hours but even that, for multiple days in a row, is, frankly, distressing to our animals and to us, as owners. To Katie’s credit, when I called and brought her daily, extended time away to her attention and reiterated my wishes the dogs not be left for more than 6 hours, she changed her schedule and while still gone every day, capped her time away at six hours. And, as I said, she is cheerful and responsive; hence, the ambivalence is positing my concerns with this sit. I think if Katie is provided with very clear expectations prior to the sit and understands exactly what is needed and expected, she will absolutely deliver. For whatever reason, from the start, this sit was rushed, there appeared to be too many misunderstandings, and it ended up being frustrating for us in ways other sits have not been.

It was so wonderful to have Karen back! I feel at ease when she’s caring for Rocky and my home. She’s a great communicator and left my house spotless. Grateful she returned to pick up where she left off with Rocky - and that she forgives him for being a bed hog! :)

Happy dogs! Clean house!

Kim, Chip and Stogie (their small Havanese which we agreed ahead of time was fine) did a great job caring for and entertaining my two dogs. They sent lots of pictures of the dogs playing and relaxing. Kept me up to date on a daily basis. Kim was very flexible about her arrival and departure times with was helpful for me. They left the house clean and neat. They ensured Edgar ate all his pills and fixed the dogs frozen peanut butter treats each night. They did an outstanding job and I would be glad to have them back anytime.