4.9

I booked Maria twice; once for a trial o/n and another for about four days. My three other sitters were unavailable. She was friendly enough and a bit flustered but had great reviews, and my dog seemed to like her and was excited to see her, which was great. However, there was frustration and confusion surrounding his feeding, and that definitely negatively impacted the experiences. When I picked my dog up from the trial o/n, she said she accidentally fed him a whole tray of wet food rather than the half he gets alongside kibble, bc her son distracted her. I said ok, accidents happen. She said yes he just looked so hungry…(he is a std poodle and would vacuum the entire fridge if I let him) a week later I went ahead with the longer booking and I was away on holiday. The morning of pickup (which was 2:30pm) she asked if I could get him at 2pm or after 4pm bc she had a long call. Luckily I had arranged buffer time in my travel plans, so I said I’d get him at 2pm. I arrived at 1:50pm and when I got home I noticed he should’ve had a half tray of wet food w his things for dinner at home that night. He also gets 1 probiotic sachet per breakfast meal and still had 3 (I sent him w 4, one for each day). I texted Maria and she said she’d drop the wet food by my house the next day, around noon, but would call/txt as she might be late. The next day she arrived around 1:30pm with no call or text (I had resigned to wait around). I thanked her and she left. After she left I noticed she brought an entire tray of wet food. He’d only left a half tray at hers so I was confused and I texted her asking for clarification and she asked if I was saying she hadn’t fed my dog during boarding. At this point, my dog had been constipated for 24h+ so I was worried he’d gotten sick. I repeated to her that he should’ve had a half tray of food left so did he eat twice or did he skip a meal? I also asked whether he’d had a sachet of probiotics everyday bc he still had 3 left. She became very defensive, saying how she drove all the way to my house and I was complaining about the food. Again I reiterated that I just wanted clarification on his eating during boarding bc the leftovers weren’t adding up. After much back and forth she finally said she didn’t want a messy car so she brought a full tray of wet food (she keeps the same brand on hand). I said okay I understand, and asked whether he’d had probiotics everyday. Again she started complaining that she drove all the way to my house and I was complaining about his food, and that he had probiotics everyday. I asked if he had a full sachet each day bc if so, how did he have sachets leftover? She said I must have forgotten bc I packed 10+ sachets and he had one everyday…I dropped him off on a Friday midday, and picked him up the following Tuesday midday. It does not even make sense that I’d send him w 10+ sachets for such a short trip and if so—there are still sachets missing! I’m the owner that has a checklist and detailed scheduled and all the things and I try to be accommodating when I can be, but it was irritating to feel like someone is trying to insult your intelligence when you want clarification on a service you paid for. She continued texting me about how her sons complained they drove all those miles (I live <20m away) just to drop of dog food. And I stopped replying. Not a great experience when an issue arose, but no worries to find a different emergency sitter.

Maria was so attentive, caring and loving, the best sitter I could have hoped for to look after my dog and I will not hesitate to book with her again. Thank you.

Always good with Ralph and very responsive when booking.

Franklin had a great time. Maria and her family did a great job with him and she kept us updated with photos. Very happy with the service she provided.

Barley had a great time with Maria. My dog came home very happy!

Thank you Maria! At the age of 6, my border collie has never been left with anyone other than his family. Maria took him in as one of her own and gave him the time and patience he needed to feel safe and secure. Thank you :)