As a horse trainer, I thought Lauren would be a great dog sitter. I was sadly mistaken. Leo is a nervous pup but very loving and he craves human affection. Sadly, he came home limping and with bloody front paws from constantly pawing at the fence he was left in (apparently within the house according to Lauren). I have no idea how long he was kept in the fenced area but it must have been some time to cause him to have bloody front paws and to be limping. I mistakenly thought he’d have freedom within the house, which is what distinguishes home care from a kennel in my mind, but that wasn’t the case. He also can back skinny and gaunt. In a mere 5 days, I could see his ribs clearly and it seemed from the leftover food in his food container that he barely ate. As a 50 pound dog, he lost 8 pounds in mere five days. Leo was so depleted after his stay that he slept for 16 hours straight after he returned to us and he ate ravenously bc he was so hungry. Lauren mentioned in a text to me that Leo was anxious and was “scratching to get out”, but I thought she meant scratching at the door to go outside. She never told me he was fenced in within the house. She also told me that Leo that he wasn’t eating full rations, etc, but she never made clear the severity of the problem. Leo was obviously so nervous and unhappy with Lauren that he was hardly eating anything. If I had known how bad it was, I would have gladly retrieved Leo immediately. My wife and kids were nearly in tears upon seeing Leo after his return because it was obvious what a horrible stay he had at Lauren’s for 5 nights. We felt guilty for leaving him in our care. A good dog sitter would have either suggested to the owner to retrieve their dog or would have at least taken extra measures to calm the dog that was obviously unhappy with what ever fenced in arrangement she had him in. I’m extremely unhappy with our experience and will never use or recommend Lauren to any owner who loves their pet. I will also make sure to more carefully vet any dog sitter by setting the inside of the house and fully understanding where my dog will be staying and whether he would be cordoned off on his own in a fenced off area. The experience we and Leo had with Lauren scared both Leo and us.

My nala girl had the BEST time! Lauren provided pictures daily and updated me everyday about her. When I picked her up she was happy, tired, and clearly had a lot of fun playing on Lauren’s ranch. I had a bit of a flight delay and Lauren was super understanding of my being a little late to pick her up so that’s also a huge plus for me. I will certainly be booking my nala girls ‘vacations’ with Lauren again!