Michelle F.
Michelle F.
Contact for Boarding
from $80 per night
Highlights
Pet care experience
All my friends have paws
I’ve cared for dogs and cats for nearly 15 years, both professionally and personally. While in college, I worked at a large Jersey City dog daycare serving more than 100 dogs a day, and later built my own dog-walking and pet-sitting clientele. I have experience with pets of all temperaments, including social, shy, anxious, reactive, and slow-to-trust animals. One of my own dogs was highly reactive toward strangers, had many outdoor triggers, and wore a basket muzzle whenever we left the apartment. Caring for him taught me how much patience, awareness, consistency, and attention to body language and surroundings can matter when working with anxious or reactive pets. I’m also comfortable administering medications, including insulin, and performing blood glucose checks for diabetic dogs and cats. I treat every pet as if they were my own and love getting to know their individual personality, routine, quirks, and comfort level. At home in Jersey City Heights, we have Donatella, our friendly 3.7 lb senior Chihuahua, and four cats: Pepper, Pixie, Lizzie, and Penelope. We’re happy to welcome both dogs and cats into our home for boarding as long as they are comfortable and friendly with our resident pets. Meet-and-greets and trial stays are always welcome. I work at a university, primarily Monday–Friday, 9–5, with some work-from-home flexibility. My wife also works from home every Monday and Friday, giving us additional flexibility for pets staying with us. I’m available for evenings, weekends, many mornings, and select daytime care depending on my schedule.
Cat care experience
Michelle also cares for cats. Learn about their cat-specific care experience.
Qualifications
Ratings and reviews
Michelle is an amazing pet sitter! We were away for a week, and she took such great care of my cat, Hazel. We had one drop-in visit, and every evening, she would pick up Hazel and take her to her apartment, where she had such a fun time. Michelle sent tons of videos of Hazel interacting with her cats, which reassured us that she was not only in great hands but also truly enjoying herself. It was clear that Michelle genuinely cares for animals, and they connected from the beginning. We felt completely at ease knowing Hazel was safe, happy, and well cared for. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for a reliable and loving pet sitter!
Michelle did a wonderful job taking care of our two cats, Olive and Chris. She provided detailed updates and lots of pictures, letting us know our fur babies were in great hands. I would absolutely use her services again.
Michelle is a fantastic cat sitter! She took excellent care of our cat while we were on a long vacation. We came home to a happy and relaxed kitty. Michelle provided great communication, sent daily pictures and visit reports, and truly connected with our cat. She played with him and also respected his chill time. Michelle is warm, friendly, and a pleasure to work with. She's our go-to cat sitter and we highly recommend her to all cat owners!
Michelle was amazing with Cowboy
Michelle was a great sitter for our cat Rue! We did daily drop in visits to refresh food + water, clean litter, and give Rue some company while we were away. Michelle left thorough daily reports with photos which was really nice since this was our first experience with Rover. Rue can be VERY slow to warm up to people but let Michelle pet her on the 3rd day. This was a great comfort while we were away on a very distracting family vaca :) Thanks Michelle!
Michelle was so wonderful to work with! She was great with Oakley and kept us informed. Her detailed post-walk recaps and photos were so appreciated too!
Calendar and availability
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Schedule
I am currently doing freelance work so I have a lot of availability with a varying schedule. I am available weekdays and weekends as well as holidays.
Where your pet will stay
Home characteristics
Safety, trust & environment
In my home your pup will get to play with our dog as well as us, cuddle on the couch and watch TV, and go on long walks in the neighborhood. At your home, I can do all of those same things, and anything else you prefer.
Pets
A typical day
On a walk: -walking/running with good leash manners -exploring and sniffing, as well as some scent work ("go find it" game with treats if allowed) -playing! -practicing any known manners and tricks, as well as learning new ones -suggestions or directions in which you specify are always welcome -cuddling and snuggling --no dog parks will be visited while dog is in my care, can arrange play dates with my stuffed animal of a dog if you want your dog socialized and they are up to date on all vaccinations--
- Cats0 to 15 lbs16 to 40 lbs41 to 100 lbsSpayed and neutered dogs onlyNo females in heatMichelle can host up to 4 pets per night
- I have experience with all sorts of dog behaviors and I am always willing to work with any type of dog. Until recently we had three dogs and all three dogs were unique in their own ways, and I know that your dog is too. So as much information that you can give me about your pups temperament, likes, dislikes, routine, etc. is always best.