I'm afraid i have had a very negative experience and don't recommend this sitter . They kennel the dogs but don't disclose this information. The first time i worked with them there were a couple red flags but i thought maybe i was just being a "helicopter mom" and that everything was fine. This time however, i didn't receive any communications from him and finally i asked for a picture of her and he said he was in bed and would send the next day. He still didn't send the next day and i asked for them again. He finally sends me the pictures and she is cowering in both pics like she's scared. There's another dog in the picture who is also cowering. there is absolutely no reason why taking pictures of her should be a problem. it literally takes less than 10 seconds. When i picked her up they wouldn't open the door - only just a crack and peeking out. They said they would get her in a minute and shut the door on me. I waited and then he stuck his head out again and said one minute. It took awhile to get her which didn't make any sense because they knew i was coming. I was getting concerned so i knocked again and they yelled at me. The screen door shut hard and they said that i slammed the door and they became hostile with me. She finally comes out and she's on the wrong leash, they didn't give her towel back, her toy or the leftover food. AND SHE REEKED! i have never smelled a smellier dog. So i had to get them to get her correct leash and then get her towel back. What is also concerning is that while she smelled so bad - her towel smelled fresh like the way i had dropped it off - so that tells me she was never given her towel to snuggle with. I never did get the leftover food. When i came to pick her up you could hear that they were sitting A LOT of dogs and because it took so long to get her, because they wouldn't open the door and because they didn't have her correct leash or provide her belongings and because she smelled so bad it's clear they are kenneling the dogs. When i expressed my concerns they got immediately hostile with me. their anger and level of defensiveness was not at all appropriate for the situation which tells me they know their treatment of her was not good. I'm not sure how to post pics here but i have the images of her cowering and the text messages where he gets defensive when i asked for pics of her. Now that she is home her energy level is off the charts - she is bouncing off the walls and jumping and running hard. It's clear she has not been worked out during her stay. I strongly strongly suggest that you find another sitter. It's not worth the worry that she's being neglected and kenneled.

I have left my dogs at Joel's a few times and I can tell they are very comfortable there as they go into Joel's house willingly and are relaxed when I pick them up. I will certainly use Joel again.