I have owned dogs all my life including muts and five golden retrievers all my life. When my Brandy died of cancer in 2015 I thought it might be nice to have some "free" time without any responsibilities except myself. However I quickly found that I missed coming home a dog greeting me at the door and eagerly wait until I changed my clothes so that we could go for a walk. The void got me to thinking about how lucky I have been over the past 20 years to have close neighbors and friends to watch my dogs in their homes whenever I had to go out of town for work or on vacation, and that peace of mind that I had knowing that my dogs were in a loving home with people who treated them like a member of their family. And that feeling made me realize that there are probably lots of other people who want the same kind of loving environment for their fur baby(ies) when they go out of town. My philosophy is that dogs are family and that they deserve to have free run of the house (as long as they are house broken and not destructive); a nice soft dog bed to lay on, toys to play with, a big yard to run around in, another dog (my Rosie) to hang out with, and an environment where they feel safe and loved while their mom and dad are away. While I have a small Arlington home I have fostered and dog sat many big dogs (think golden retrievers and labs) over the years with much success. I do work a hybrid work schedule so am not at home full time with the dogs. When I go into the office I will be away 8-10 hours at a time so your dog must be house broken and able to be left alone inside for that duration. I sometimes have my dog walker stop by to let the dogs our in the yard for a potty break on those days. My six-year-old golden retriever is very social but passive so no aggressive dogs or unneutered males please. I do ask that before accepting any reservation requests that you contact me to set-up a meet and greet to see if you feel comfortable leaving your family pet and so I feel like I will be able to care for your dog properly and that they get along with my Rosie. Thank you for reviewing my profile and I look forward to meeting you and you sweet fur baby soon! Rene'