4.9

Victoria and her mother watched our 9-10month-old Lab puppy, Kobe, for three weeks! This was the first time we were going to be away from Kobe for more than a night, so we wanted to make sure Kobe had everything he needed to feel as close to home as possible. 3 weeks is a long time! Especially for a puppy. We gave a huge bag of chews (rabbit ears, duck feet, tendons, etc.), a big bag of treats, a whole lot of frozen homemade pupscicle treats, and his daily kibble and fresh food meals. We had also provided a digital and printed detailed set of notes with pictures and step-by-step instructions mentioning what he eats and when - and some of his habits and more. We also discussed his routines during the interview, briefly during the home visit with Victoria, and with her mother during drop-off since Victoria wasn't home at the time. Everything was confirmed and seemed good to go. Victoria was pretty responsive to our questions and pretty communicative up until it was time to drop him off. Once we dropped him off, we stopped getting those quick responses. It turns out Victoria works a second job, and is a student as well. When we would ask her for a photo or video, she said she was at her second job and that her mom was with him. It would have been nice to know beforehand that she was not the one who was going to be with Kobe most of the time. Full transparency is important to us since we're leaving a family member with someone else. We would not have had a problem with her having 2 jobs if she had only been upfront about it. Caught us off-guard. Victoria did mention that she usually has about 6 dogs at a time, so we understood the fact that Kobe wouldn't be the only one, and we were really glad to know that he would have friends! But we don't know why pictures and videos were hard to come by. We had requested at least a picture or video every day. We don't think that's unreasonable, considering how easy it is to take a picture. Our cat sitter does so with so much enthusiasm and love, and we didn't have to ask her for pictures. She just sent them without being asked. I guess we thought Victoria would too. But the first picture we got, about a day after requesting one - several times, was a blurred pic, and one of Kobe pooping. And that was it for the day. I, myself, used to dog sit. And I would send a message to the owner when I arrive and another one when I leave. I also sent pictures. They didn't ask me for these, but I figured they'd want updates about their fur baby. I also did it to give them peace of mind. It doesn't take a lot to send a quick update about this. I think it's extremely important. Victoria was sending us pictures and videos daily. Only, we had to message to remind her everyday. It wasn't until about the second week or so, that she started to do it on her own. Not sure why it's a big deal. You can even have whoever it is watching him while you're working take the pictures. We were in Thailand and Philippines having a wonderful time; only, it would've been nicer not to have to micromanage a simple request like that. Further, it turns out she ended up sharing the chews (duck feet, rabbit ears, etc.) with the other dogs. She didn't ask us or anything. We spent our own money (not cheap), for our dog, not other dogs. If she would've asked us, we would've probably said okay, but she didn't. We are definitely okay with her sharing the small treats with everyone, but didn't think she would share the chews. At least not without asking. And while picking up Kobe, Victoria didn't know what the Pupscicle was. Meaning, she probably didn't give it to him. Even though she probably gave the frozen pops that go in it, it's not entirely the same. We gave it for a reason (mental stimulation, and a reminder of home). We had asked to see a picture of Kobe with his Pupscicle, but that never happened. The notes specifically said to give the Pupscicle every day at 1pm. And the notes specifically explain that the frozen pops go in the pupscicle. We also showed this to the mother when dropping Kobe off. We had asked her to give Kobe his chewable (flea and tick prevention) with food, but she later told us that she gave it and he ate it like a treat. Not sure why she would mention that part, when we had specifically informed her that it is best given with food. Eating it like a treat, means he ate it without food. Another funny fact is that Victoria never once said thank you while we were away. She did say thank you when we gave her dried mangoes from the Philippines for her mom since she asked us if we could get her some, which we didn't mind at all. But that was the only time. Not much warmth. We sent a picture of Kobe saying "thank you", after getting home from picking him up, and she never responded. Now the positives: Kobe was in good health and spirits when getting picked up. He had a few bug bites, but that is totally fine! We are so very grateful that Kobe was safe and well during his stay. We felt like he was a good socialization environment, playing with other dogs, and having fun in the mini-pool! Some of the detailed pictures and videos Victoria sent were phenomenal and made us feel like Kobe was truly having fun! It was like a summer camp for Kobe Bulgogi! Conclusion: Everything seems pretty generalized in a blanketed type of way here, but that's okay! That's not always bad and it helps with structure. It all felt very mechanical. We would've appreciated a little more warmth and transparency. But we're glad he had fun and stayed safe!

Victoria and her mom are an outstanding dog sitting duo! I love getting photos and text updates from them and they have a house full of activities, toys and other playmates to keep my puppy Archie interested, stimulated and busy. They are total dog lovers!

Victoria and her mom are the best sitters! My pup Star thrives in their care and I never worry about how she is doing.

Very flexible and friendly. Fiji had fun.

Lucky had a great time! Thank you!

Victoria always has stuff to teach me like a special training collar that doesn’t hurt or how to cure a reverse cough. I tell her she should go back to school and study to be a vet.