****COVID INFO***** Updated: 6/12/2023 - For everyone's health and safety, we are doing distanced meet & greets outside on our front lawn on an as-needed basis with new clients. We will wear a mask during our interaction. We unfortunately cannot allow anyone inside of our home but we are happy to let you tour the backyard! We can also connect by phone in lieu of meet and greet if desired. Sandra is immunocompromised so we need to take extra care. - All drop offs and pick ups will be handled outside in our front yard or on covered porch with limited owner contact. Thank you for your understanding as we work to reduce risk as much as possible during this time! ********************************** Hello, My name is Sandra, I live in Springfield VA with my husband Ryan and our roommate Mike. We live in a large single family home with a huge 1/2 acre fully-fenced back yard. The fence is 6ft, wood and in perfect condition. We even have a bone-shaped doggy pool in the back yard for those warm summer days! I have dedicated a huge portion of my life to my dogs and also to my volunteer work with Nerdy Paws Animal Rescue. I am proud to have fostered over 600 dogs and cats over the past eleven years. We truly have a passion for caring for animals, You can rest assured that your furry friends are in the best hands. We gladly welcome all dogs, big and small- special needs and all. They will be fed, walked, played with and treated like family. We also have a special cat room for any kitties that need to stay with us! Mike and Sandra both work from home so they share all the daily pet care and duties while Ryan gets to relax and play with them when he is home. Our schedules are very flexible and we accept last-minute bookings! -- About Us -- Sandra: I am a 34yr old Animal Enthusiast! I've loved animals my whole life and was very fortunate to grow up with a menagerie of them.. We had 4 Dogs, 3 Cats, 3 Horses and a Parrot! Before COVID I was in school to become a Vet Tech and was close to graduating but unfortunately due to my immunocomprimisation I had to change career paths and am now a WFH Government Contractor. I am comfortable administering oral and injected medications and can also do Sub-Q fluids. Fostering over 600 dogs and cats has been invaluable experience and I am confident in my abilities to handle any situation -- I've seen and dealt with it all! - American Red Cross Certified in Cat & Dog First Aid and CPR - Melani Monterio Dog CPR, First Aid & Safety Certified Mike: 30 yr old animal lover. I grew up on a farm in Ohio and have been taking care of animals my whole life! Sandra and Mike work from home and will be spending all day with your pets. We provide potty breaks every 2-4 hours! We gladly invite pets on our furniture, beds and all living spaces. We have a fully fenced 1/2 acre yard, 6 foot fence that is checked daily. We have baby gates setup in the home to section off areas of where the dogs can stay and hang out. The main area is my kitchen and office where we have lots of dog beds setup to lounge in! We also have crates available in case we need to secure your pet if there is a worker in our home or in the rare case where there might not be someone home (but between the three of us there is almost always someone here!). Dogs are welcome to either sleep in the office or upstairs in the bedrooms with us -- whichever they prefer! Young puppies will need to be crated over-night to ensure they do not get into trouble or harm themselves. -- Dropoff / Pickup Times -- Mon/Weds/Fri/Sat/Sun: 9am - 10pm Tues/Thurs: 9am - 7pm We both work late shifts, we are sometimes working until 3am. As such, we would prefer drop-offs and pick-ups to occur after 9am. We realize this may be inconvenient for some but would welcome you to instead drop your pet off the night before! We can make exceptions to the rules and accommodate earlier in the morning or later at night dropoffs/pickups for a $20 fee. -- Updates -- We love to send lots of pictures and videos! We strive to provide daily picture/video and/or text updates. Our mornings are usually very busy so sometimes our updates don't go out until 2-6pm as we need time to go through the photos and upload them. The Rover app sometimes errors out when we try to send videos, if you have not received an update in over a day we probably tried to send a video that did not come through! Please let us know if you would prefer fewer updates. -- Checklist -- What to bring: - Collar - Leash - Harness (if used) - Copy of Vaccination record if not already sent. - Food for entire stay +1 extra day incase of travel delays. (Pre-packaged baggies are preferred, if not please include written feeding instructions) - Medications w/ written instructions - Supplements w/ written instructions Optional: - Toys - Treats and Chews - Poop Bags - Wipes - Grooming Tools - A scent item (blanket, old tshirt, towel) What not to bring: (We have plenty of all of these!) - Bowls - Crates - Beds