Maria H.
Maria H.
Prices include all fees.
Highlights
Pet care experience
A Second Home for Your Dog 🏡
🐾Home-from-Home Boarding - One Dog Family at a Time - Secure Garden - WFH Hi, I'm Maria, and I live with my wife Helen and our teenage sons in the beautiful village of Handcross, near Haywards Heath. I am a fully licensed with Mid Sussex District Council and also hold a DBS Certificate. For many years, our home revolved around our much-loved cockapoo, Sox. After recently saying goodbye to him, we're not quite ready for another dog of our own, but we really miss having a furry companion around the house and would love to share our home, care and affection with your dog. One thing that makes our care a little different is that we only welcome dogs from one family at a time. This means your dog won't have to compete for attention or share their space with lots of unfamiliar dogs. Instead, they'll enjoy a calm, relaxed environment with plenty of one-to-one care and affection. Having cared for Sox from puppyhood through to his senior years, including supporting him with mobility issues and medication, we're experienced in caring for dogs at every stage of life. We're both home during the day, so your dog will rarely be left alone and will enjoy plenty of companionship, attention and love throughout their stay. We know how important it is to feel confident when leaving your dog in someone else's care. That's why we'll take the time to get to know their routine, personality and individual needs, helping them settle in at their own pace. Whether your dog loves long countryside walks and adventures or prefers a cosy spot on the sofa and plenty of cuddles, we'll make sure they feel safe, happy and completely at home. Your dog will have free run of our home and be treated as one of the family, just as Sox always was. We have a secure enclosed garden and are surrounded by beautiful countryside, woodland trails and private estate grounds, offering plenty of opportunities for exercise, enrichment and lots of sniff-filled adventures. We'll also keep you updated with messages and photos during your dog's stay, so you can relax knowing they're happy, settled and being well looked after. We can't wait to meet you and welcome your dog into our home-from-home. 🐾
Qualifications
Ratings and reviews
We couldn’t be happier with the care Maria provided for our dog, Octi! Before booking him for a long weekend, Maria arranged a meet-and-greet with Octi. It was clear right away that she has extensive experience and training. She understood Octi's needs instantly and handled him with total confidence and warmth. Her home is also completely set up for dog safety, giving us total peace of mind knowing he was in a secure, dog-friendly environment while we were away. Maria is professional, incredibly knowledgeable, and genuinely cares about animals. We came back to a very happy, relaxed pup. We will definitely be booking with her again and cannot recommend her enough!
Maria and Helen were an absolute delight. Can tell their household loves dogs very much, Nova was treated so well during her stay and clearly enjoyed it. She was hesistant to come back to our car. 🤣 Maria kept us up to date as requested with pictures and videos. She stuck to our schedule and training cues etc. As our pup was so young at time of booking, we were quite nervous to leave her with just anyone, or a kennels. Will definitely use again, thank you!
Maria and Helen were amazing hosts, were very prepared, very considerate of Squidge's eye condition and regularly provided updates. Would definitely recommend to anyone!
I honestly couldn’t recommend them highly enough! From the moment I dropped Milo off, they were so kind, welcoming, and made me feel completely at ease. They were incredibly flexible and accommodating when I needed to adjust the hours and even kept Milo for a little longer without any hassle, which I was so grateful for. It’s clear they genuinely care about the dogs they look after. Milo was in such loving, safe hands, and I could tell he was happy, relaxed, and well cared for throughout his stay. They have such a lovely, warm home, and I felt confident knowing he was being treated like one of their own. Thank you so much for taking such wonderful care of Milo. I wouldn’t hesitate to book again, and I know he’ll be excited to come back! If you’re looking for someone trustworthy, caring, and reliable to look after your dog, I couldn’t recommend them more highly.
Maria and Helen are so kind and lovely and catered for our cocker spaniels every need .Vito returned so happy and content giving them both lots of cuddles and attention before he left . They clearly built a loving bond in the overnight stay . Would highly recommend the whole family and would not hesitate to book again soon for there 5 star service .
Jasper had a great time with you. I was pleased to hear that he was good for you and that you are happy to have him again. He was happy to come, it’s lovely to see him pulling to get in and was happy when we collected him. I am so confident and reassured by you with him in your care. We will be booking a weeks holiday! We look forward to to the next time!
Calendar and availability
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Schedule
We’re used to having a dog who enjoyed at least three walks a day, and as we’re both at home, we have plenty of time and flexibility to follow your dog’s usual routine.
Where your pet will stay
Home characteristics
Safety, trust & environment
We offer a calm, safe home from home where your dog is treated like part of the family. Lots of one to one attention without other unfamiliar dogs around 🐾 We would like to keep everything familiar for them, including walks, feeding times, rest and any little extras like medication or special care.
A typical day
We have lots of local interesting places to go for walks, with new sniffs and adventures. Travel permitting we can go further afield and we also have Nymans Wood (National Trust) in the village. A secure garden for free roam and playing with toys and balls. ⚽️
- 0 to 7 kg7 to 18 kgNon-neutered males accepted, spayed females onlyNo females in heatTakes only 1 client at a timeMaria can host up to 1 pet per night
- As a licensed boarder, your dog must have up to date vaccines, including kennel cough together with flea and worm treatments. We will meet and greet before agreeing to board and get to know each other a little to make sure it’s comfortable for everyone ☺️
Prices include all fees.