Lauren D.
Lauren D.
Contact Lauren D.
Highlights
Pet care experience
It was me... I let the dogs out.
Hi there! My name is Lauren, but you can call me Lo. I’ve worked with dogs for 12 years and counting! My journey started in 2011 working with dogs at a boarding kennel where I started with basic maintenance of the facility and playing with dogs. For about 7 of my 12 years, I worked at 4 different boarding facilities and 2 of them were also veterinary hospitals. During my time in the animal hospitals, I was able to obtain skills in medication administration, observing health concerns, and more. However, my heart was heavy in times of grief for pet owners and so I decided wanted to move away from the medical side of things and learn more about behavioral aspects of animals! In my final 3 years of working for someone else, I worked as a lead dog handler at a social doggy daycare. This is where I gained skills with how to properly handle dogs of all different breeds, temperaments, and being proactive in keeping all the dogs safe as they play together. It was my instinctive priority to keep the dogs safe during their play at daycare and I will continue this instinct with all dogs in my care. The last 3 years I have been self employed with Rover doing overnight stays in owners homes, dog walks, and check-ins. I am happy to take your dog to the local dog park for play or even pick them up/drop them off at their daycare. If you've read this far and you have more than 1 dog, I will adjust overnight rates since the charge is per dog per night. About this sitter I’ve always had a family dog from as far back as I can remember. My most recent pet was a beagle, he lived a great 15 years of life and taught me how to handle a stubborn hound. He sadly passed in 2019, but was a huge reason I began working with dogs. You can see him in my profile picture(: I do not currently live with any of my own pets, which is why I love being around dogs or cats as much as I can. I love dogs any size and actually have a soft spot for pit bulls. When I pet sit, I prefer to stay in your home because I feel it's more comfortable for the pet. I also hope to bring owners peace of mind that their home is being watched over in their absence. I always respect rules given per the owner regarding the home and daily routines. I do this full time as well as another work from home job so your pet(s) will get a lot of attention. I essentially "move in" while I pet sit. Ultimately, my goal is to ensure your pet's spirit remains uplifted while the family is gone. I happily send updates with photos and videos daily. Why I love dog sitting I love to spend as much time with dogs as possible. I truly believe they have a unique skill of bringing instant happiness into anyone’s life! After working a short time in retail, I knew working with dogs would be my niche. It’s been such a natural feeling part of my life to care for dogs and to make a four legged friend makes me so happy. My experience administering medication I can administer oral, inject able, or topical medications. No worries, I have experience with doggies that don't like their medications and have strategies to get the medications administered. I work with pets full time. I usually have dog walks throughout the days during the week. If I am pet sitting, I always make sure to drop in on my busier dog walking days. When it comes to safety on walks, I usually will avoid interactions with other dogs and keep a special eye out for neighborhood kitties in order to prevent any reactivity. I will ensure the temperature is not too hot outside for your pet and will try and stay in the shade on walks, if it is unavoidable, I will only walk your dog until they relieve themselves and will play with them in your home/yard for the remainder of the time. While I am pet sitting, I will not leave small bones or toys out while I am gone.
Qualifications
Ratings and reviews
Lauren is a fantastic pet sitter! Our little dog is pretty skittish and she was able to get him out every visit and make sure his needs were met. Thank you Lauren!!
Lauren is great. She communicates well and keeps us informed.
Thank you Lauren. Appreciate you looking after our cats again.
Lauren is the best! She is so sweet and loving to our Libby and Oliver. Walked them daily! Daily brushing and kept them cool despite the hot temps outside! She kept our home in immaculate condition! Brought in trashcans and daily pet waste pickup! This allowed me and my family to truly relax on our vacation! Our doodles adore Lauren as do we! Thank you Lauren for offering first class service to our Pups!
Lauren always takes wonderful care of our pup, taking her for walks, fetch outings and feeding her meals. Our dog loves Lauren, and we are so lucky to have found her!
We had Lauren come and watch our two dogs while on vacation, originally scheduled for 5 days. After some of the things we saw we cut it a day short. We had 2 previous meetings with her and had trial walks, where everything seemed fine. We let her know some of their quirks and both times she arrived early to the walks. We also let her know that we had multiple cameras outside the house and one camera in the living room/kitchen area where our dogs kennels are. We left her very explicit instructions with a very detailed schedule, something that SHE specifically requested. We told her verbally and on our note, that they are very routine dogs. The very first day she was supposed to arrive at 8am and arrived late. In our schedule we specified that the dogs are typically okay to be left alone in their kennels from 10am-3pm, and if she had to leave for a quick errand than she could leave them out. One of the days she left them for 7hours, out of their kennel and did not come back in between to let them out potty. And because they were out of their kennels we could see they were constantly barking. We asked her about it and she said it was her busiest day and the rest of the week she would be able to spend more time with them. She still continued to leave them for around 6+hours the remaining days. When we pay someone to stay at our house and watch our dogs, we expect them to actually stay and be with our dogs! We also feed our dogs at very specific times with 5pm being dinner time for our big dog. She would not feed them until about an hour after that most days. We also put in our notes that the boys typically get two 30 minute walks a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Out of the entire time she was here she only did one 30 minute walk, we knew this because our Ring camera showed when she left and came back, every other walk was 15-20 minutes. Our boxer Milo is a very big cuddler, he is very affectionate and likes to lay on the couch with us, we let Lauren know this and she seemed like that was something she was fine with. She did NOT like either of our dogs “in her boundaries” and we have video of her nudging our dog Milo away from her. Our overall impression at the end of this visit was that she is not really a person that does this because she enjoys dogs but as a job. If we just wanted someone to come in and check on them we would have just had a friend watch them, but when we are gone on vacation we like our dogs to have fun and have someone stay with them that wants to hangout with them. When you pay a lot of money for someone to watch your dog, you expect them to actually be there for most of the day, that was not the case here. It put a damper on our whole vacation. We have had previous sitters through Rover for our dogs over the years and this experience was easily the worst.
Calendar and availability
Schedule
I do this full time. I do my best to take on new clients where I can, but last minute bookings and new clients for overnights are not always guaranteed.
Where your pet will stay
Safety, trust & environment
I only care for pets in owners home. I do my best not to leave pets for more than 4 hours at a time without a check-in. Because I do this full time, I have walks throughout the day, but I make time for my overnight pets around my scheduled walks for the day.
A typical day
If your dog has toys to play with I’m happy to play fetch (or chase) and even tug-o-war. I can provide balls to throw, but if your dog is on the more relaxed side, that’s perfectly fine by me. I have also done arts & crafts involving peanut butter and paint, lots of photo shoots, and will take them to a dog park near you if that's something you are comfortable with. Your dog's sleeping arrangement Wherever the dog is comfortable is where they can sleep. If the owner has a preference on not allowing dogs up on beds or couches, I will happily continue that discipline so no house rules are broken. Time I'll spend with your dog If I’m doing an overnight stay, I will spend at least 12 hours a day with your dog. In that time, I’ll be sure to do proper feedings, meds if needed, and play/cuddle time. **Please note that on the last day of a stay if a pet needs care past noon, a drop-in fee will be applied!**