Hello! As a dog owner, I know what it is like to need a caring, trustful sitter while you are away. So you can worry a little less. Someone who won't forget to feed, walk or let your dog out to go potty. It's not always easy to find someone like that. So if you have the same dilemma and need a sitter you feel comfortable leaving your dog with--send us a message :). We have been doing this dog boarding business for over 10 years now and love it! We recently just started accepting new clients again but require your dog is friendly (doesn't show signs of aggression when they meet new dogs). We have a lot of regulars and the last 2 years we only booked dogs we've watched before--mostly through our dog boarding business Paws & Places (previously Simba & Friends). But we have some room available this year and are open to new clients on rover! I work from home (I have an online baby products company (littlebaebaestore(dot)com) so I'm home with the dogs and kids--when the kids aren't at school or activities/sports. My husband is also home either during the mornings/early afternoon or at home in the early evening/nights (depending on his schedule). We have a big dog room (use to be a living room) that is connected to our big backyard—so most the time they just run in and out all day long and tire each other out playing haha. My kids and I love to play with the dogs as well so we are also outside playing with them. We will also bring over dogs to our side and snuggle with them! We just have to get to know your dog first before I let my kids do that--for their safety. But we have many regulars for a reason because their fur baby always has a good time and is well taken care of when they are here! We usually watch about 3-7 at a time. We keep our max under 10 dogs (usually I only book regulars when we have this many with maybe 1 or 2 new ones) just incase there's any issues with the new dogs not getting along then we can just keep the 1 or 2 separated from the pack. If your dog loves their crate then we recommend you bring it so that they have their familiar "home" here. We keep the crate door open so they can go in and out if they want. But some dogs like to just chill in their crates specially when they are tired. We don't require crates though. About this sitter: A little about us and our two dogs: We have been married for almost 15 years now. We have a 9 year old daughter, Ella, and 7 year old son, Caden, who both grew up surrounded by dogs. They love playing with all the dogs and helping us take care of them! We have a door that separates them from the dog room and your dog is not around the kids unless you/we are comfortable and trust your dog to be. We live in a 4bd/3bth house and have a big room dedicated to the dogs that leads to our big backyard. So they can run in and out or use the doggy door when they want, if door is closed. We have a 15 year old chow chow named Simba. We adopted him 13 years ago from a shelter when we lived in LA. He is really friendly, chill, happy, and well trained dog. He has gotten along with every dog he has met—and we have watched thousands of dogs now. He’s getting pretty old and mostly just sleeps but will get excited for 5 mins when he meets new dogs. He's mostly a big cat haha. We also adopted a small breed mix named, Pip, when he was a puppy and now he's 2 years old. He has a lot of energy but is friendly with other dogs and likes to run around and play with them. He also likes to chill and snuggle too. Last year we got our newest addition to our family, Bowie! He’s a 1 years old Great Pyrenees and about 100lbs. He’s a gentle giant and loves to play with other dogs. But can also be fine just lounging around and being lazy. When you drop off your dog with us, we will ask a couple questions about feeding schedule and anything we need to know. Then we will let them hang out and get comfortable with us and the new place before we do any introductions with the other dogs. It can be a lot for some dogs to come to a new place and meet a bunch of new dogs so we prefer to take our time with it and slowly introduce one at a time. Introductions also go better without the owner there because then the dog isn't defensive of their owner and dogs usually just act differently when not around their owner (a lot like kids haha). If for some reason, we do have a dog that doesn't get along with another (after 10 years, we are very good at just telling by signs during the introductions). We have a gate that separates the dog room into two rooms or can keep them on the kitchen side and not in the dog room. So there are many ways we can and have kept dogs separated, if need be. 90% of the time they are just a pack of dogs and all get along great! It's mostly when we have older dogs and younger dogs together that we end up separating to give the older dogs a break. After 10 years and watching thousands of dogs, we have never had to take a dog to a vet (knock on wood)! So we are pretty good at what we do. ;) Let me know if you have any questions and/or if you would like us to watch your dog for you! Why I love dog sitting My husband grew up with dogs. I have always been a dog lover but my parents were not. So I only got to play with other's dogs. But 13 years ago, I finally got a dog of my own! My husband and I found Simba at a local shelter when we lived in LA and he brings me so much joy everyday :). He's not just a dog, he is a member of our family, same with our pup, Pip & newest addition Bowie! We have really enjoyed watching so many different breeds of dogs and figuring out over the many years which breeds we enjoy watching the most. About my yard We have a big back yard that becomes a mini dog park most of the time. They have so much fun running around and playing. We leave our back door or doggy door open to go in and out as they want. We recently put up a white fence in our backyard to separate it into two and each half is still lots of room for them to run around. But we can now have dogs separated in the backyard as well, if need be. Plus, our kids can play on half the yard without dogs if they want that. My experience administering medication Depending on the medication. More comfortable with giving pills rather than shots.