Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Brenda. She emphasized in her promo her experience with all types of dogs and her star ratings. During our meet and greet, she verbally emphasized this and I thought I was hitting an experienced sitter who could be trusted. On the contrary, I was forced to cut my vacation short because the first night was a disaster. Brenda did not follow the detailed directions that I left on how to care for my senior / 17 year old blind and hearing impaired dog. She over fed her, fed her at an odd hour (off schedule), and then overslept in the morning and my poor pup popped all over her bedding and pen. The dog then had diarrhea from the unnecessary anxiety of being off schedule. Brenda overslept because she was up for a good part of the night smoking. My door sensor recorded her coming in/out of my porch (an enclosed and finished area). When I looked at the camara, I saw her smoking. This was shocking and very upsetting because I have a brand new home and take care of an elderly mother with lung disease. When I confronted Brenda about the smoking, she was defensive and said she did not smoke in my house. I consider my enclosed porch area part of my home. When I provided feedback about her deviating from my pups schedule, she was again defensive and unwilling to admit that she fell short on expectations. She does not take feedback well. I could not trust my home nor pup to her care, so I made the difficult decision to come home early. I am glad that I did because my old dog is very little and can go downhill quickly. Her actions were disrespectful of my home. This entire experience had been very disappointing.

Brenda was great for our senior dog. Her years of experience and calmness helped Jenny take to her immediately. Brenda went above and beyond, taking Jenny on short outings that were suitable for her strength. We really appreciated that Brenda made an effort to make Jenny happy.