Dog Sitting in Gainesville

Gregory

Due to a family emergency, I had to leave the country earlier than I had planned, and needed a sitter to fill in the gap between my departure and another sitter. Michele responded within minutes of my posting the sit, and then we spoke and confirmed the sit within hours. Her husband, Israel, was coming from Mexico to France, while she and her kids were to come from Sweden. When Michele’s travel plans changed, and she wouldn’t be able to come with her children, she assured me that Israel would still come to look after the house and dogs. To do this, for a stay of only five days, he flew to Paris, and then to the south of France, where he rented a car and drove the rest of the way to my place. As I was already traveling, the previous sitters filled him in on the various things that needed to be tended to: caring for two dogs, tending to hens, watering 90 young olive trees daily, as well as other things. The place is big and it took me 3-4 weeks when I first moved in to figure out where things were and what to do. Israel mastered everything upon his arrival, sent me daily updates with photos of my two VERY happy dogs. In addition to all the upkeep, he managed to hike with the dogs daily. I arrived home to find everything perfectly maintained, two fit and and Israel’s guest house cleaner than it was when he arrived. Immaculate. I cannot even express my gratitude for to both Michele and Israel for such a sacrifice and commitment to do that for me. It was a very difficult time, as I was dealing with the loss of both my son and my mother. I did not worry for one second while my dogs and home were in Israel’s hands. Thank you both, so, so much. You’re welcome back anytime, with the entire family, even just for a visit, maybe just a well-deserved holiday, with no dog- or house- sitting!

Kara

Denise was by far the best pet sitter we have ever had! She watched our two pups while we were gone for 3 weeks and took amazing care of our dogs and home. She took the time to ask questions and make sure she understood each dog’s needs as well as how to take the best care of our house before we left. She sent videos everyday updating us on how the pups were doing. We were so happy to see how much quality time she was spending with them and how much they loved her. Our dogs were so sad to see her leave and we can’t wait to have her back. Denise made sure that the house was in perfect condition when she left and treated our home as if it were her own. If you are looking for a pet sitter, look no further. Highly recommend Denise!

Leslie

I’m sure most folks say the nicest things about their sitter, but honestly, if there were a “super star” status available then Denise would win the prize as sitter of the year!

From the start, Denise was an excellent communicator.  While we were still in the decision phase, Denise was always available to chat either by FaceTime, telephone or text.  It was so easy to choose Denise; as you can see from her countless 5 star reviews, she truly is the only pet sitter you’d ever need and the one everyone hopes to have.  

Denise came to our house eager to meet us, our pets and the quirks of our house.  Denise has an excellent sense of humor and immediately put us all at ease.  Our pets took to her as if she was a long lost friend (even our finicky Siamese cat was loving on her from the start).  

While we were gone, our dog had a non-emergency health issue come up and just like that Denise was taking her to our vet, and administered the dog’s meds like a champion (Denise is also a nurse BTW).  Additionally, Denise brought our pup to her scheduled groom appointments and even made future appointments for us to make our return home as seamless as possible.

Denise was even above and beyond helpful to our neighbors and they appreciated her giving them access to our refrigerator when theirs broke down on Thanksgiving Eve!  

When we got home we were super impressed by how perfectly immaculate our house was!  Most sitters leave the house clean, but Denise met and may have even exceeded our military standards of clean and orderly.  Seriously, our house felt like we never left it.  Everything was spotless, shinny and clean.  She didn’t miss a beat!!  Our pets were so happy to see us but honestly, I felt like our pup and kitty were disappointed when we walked in the door (I believe they were expecting to see Denise!).  Haha.  

If you are ever fortunate enough to have Denise apply for any of your sits then I can’t recommend her enough.  Seriously, you can stop reviewing applicants and just go with Denise.  She was awesome in every sense of the word and I hope she’ll come back and stay with our pets again.

Monika

Joe arrived some days before I left, so I could show him some nice places in Switzerland and he had enough of time to learn all about the dogs and how to handle them. He is an amazing nice and an animal/natur loving person who took care of my dog with incredible affection when I was in vacation. I could really enjoy it, because I knew, everything is ok at home. He sent me picutres and I could see, how much fun they have together. He cooked for the dogs, mad a lot of nice hikes with them and huged them, when they need it - so he even got the trust from Artu (as a man really not easy). 
And not only that, he made woodruff punch for me and sowed my tomatoes and spoiled them with melt water. And he helped also the women which looked after the horses and helped her to going walk with them.
Generelly he is super friendly, so everyone in the village likes him.

He is considerate of your belongings and has handed the house back neatly. He is just the best. I'm so gratuful he was here.

So, if you have a chance to get him as a sitter, take it. Your animals will be grateful to you and have a good time while you are on vacation.

Joe, you're not just a dog sitter for me. You were so familiar to me from the first moment. We had a lot of fun and we already miss you sooooo much. I'm really looking forward to see you again in some monthes.

Velia

Care and compassion for my dogs was at the top of the list of John's attributes. He was the first sitter I have used through zeewoi that was close enough to come meet the dogs before the sit. John not only came for an initial meet and greet, but he made time to meet the pups a second time prior to my departure to better familiarize himself with both the dogs and my home. Having put the fear of God in him about Penny's reactivity (I might have been a bit over the top, but better more attentive than less!), he was cautious with her in the beginning. Later in the sit, they trooped off to the beach on multiple occasions - all good! My 10-yr-old was on some meds for a serious battle with arthritis, and John managed Cooper's needs beautifully. John even made a call and a trip to the vet to re-up Coop's prescription when it was clear he needed to continue the protocol. I received daily updates by  text, including photos and video; communication is hugely important to me. I feel blessed to have had John care for my fur-babies.

Jackie

Tom and Diana were perfect house sitters and guests.  Great company, our dog immediately made herself at home with Tom. Animals loved and cleaned. House spotless, great communication and even left a thank you card and gift when they left.   I couldn’t recommend highly enough.

Sarah

Stephanie, Brian and baby Martin took fabulous care of our home and pets for two weeks. 

From the outset, communication was quick, smooth and friendly and it was clear that both Stephanie and Brian are reliable, professional and warm sitters who take all the various elements of a sit seriously.

They kept us up to date with photos and messages, dealt proactively and competently with any unexpected issues that popped up, and most importantly showered our dogs and gerbils with attention and care throughout the time we were away. We returned to a spotlessly clean home (with thoughtful touches of fresh milk, bacon and bread waiting for us) and happy, settled pets. 

In short, we would recommend Stephanie and Brian to anyone looking for reliable, attentive and proactive sitters for their pets and home. We would be delighted to welcome them back for another sit, should they ever find themselves in the area again.

Sidney & Larry

Oh my Goodness!  Where to begin.  Linda was the perfect house sitter for us and the perfect pet sitter for Olivia!  She is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  When we returned from out two week vacation all our plants were alive, the garden was alive, the birds and fish had been fed regularly, and the dog was alive and happy!  What more can you ask for, right?  Well with Linda you get all that and more.  Updates as you request - even videos of her morning walks with Olivia.  The house as spotless as we left it, maybe even better! Even the porches were clean!  Linda is a genuine treasure and our recommendation would be 10 stars if there were that many!!

lisa

To this list of attributes I would add flexible, capable, sensitive, extremely good with the dogs even if one of mine is sometimes a little ornery, and just a wonderful person all around.
Because of constantly changing circumstances due to a move and coronavirus, my dogs ended up spending not two weeks but a whole month with John and they were so comfortable and happy.
John helped them in so many ways and coordinated shipping them overseas, he went above and beyond the wildest stretches of what a house sitter entails and did it with a smile and a laugh and reassurances that all would be well. And indeed he was absolutely right - the dogs arrived so well cared for that all my fears of them being traumatized went out the window.
John’s flexibility, and his kindness as well as his impeccable maintenance of my house in my absence all make me recommend him an absolute 10 out of 10.
Thank you John for all your help this summer!!
Lisa

Paula

Lori and Joe took great care of our two dogs and tow cats while we were gone. Our plans changed and we actually asked if they could come a day before we had originally planned to leave and they said no problem!   They even stayed over on the night we got home so that we could meet them which was very nice!

Lori was very good with communication before the house sit and also during the time they were here.  She  let us they had arrived safely and then sent us a short text or pictures every day of the  animals. 

The house looked cleaner than when we left it when we got home!  Lori and Joe were great house sitters and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend them!