Pet Sitting in Marcellus

Gary and Carol were great, very friendly , enjoyed them staying a couple extra days with us! Did a great job of taking care of pets!

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!

We were so happy to have Dana & David stay at our house! They were prompt with communications and took great care of our home. They were very flexible as our plans changed at the last minute. Simply said, we would highly recommend Dana & David!

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.

We were lucky enough to have Dede sit our house and yellow lab for a little more than two weeks. She treated our house as if it were her own and did an outstanding job looking after our three year old yellow lab, providing the requisite exercise for her, as well as the love and attention she so craves. Our home was spotless upon our return with everything in order and although our pup was happy to see us, she may have been a little sad to see Dede go. We would reccomend Dede, with our highest praise, to anyone who is seeking a responsible, caring, communicative and considerate sitter, you will not be disappointed!

I was very happy to have Meredith in our home and watching our cat. She was very responsive and considerate and took good care of everything. Thank you!

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.

Leslie and Jason were great! Our dog immediately felt comfortable with them when they arrived. They arrived a little early and quickly recognized that taking our dog out into the yard would make it much easier for us to pack up and leave, which was very much appreciated. They left the house in great condition and communicated well leading up to, and during the sit. We would be happy to have Leslie and Jason back anytime!

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! :)