Karen went above and beyond when taking care of my cats while I was on a weekend trip. She even…read morecleaned their bowls and plates. She sent pictures to keep me updated. I felt really comfortable with her and so did my kitties (and usually one of them is not so happy with people he doesn't know, but he loved Karen!) I'm so glad I've found her!

Karen really gives you the sense that not only does she love her job (who wouldn't love being able…read moreto play with dogs all day) but she genuinely cares about the dogs she walks and cares for. She helped my wife and I out with a very difficult situation where I was out every weekday for two months before we moved out of the Richmond area. It was very evident that our dog's attitude and demeanor improved whenever Karen walked her. Taking a photo of our dog each day was a big plus especially since I was away during the week. It brought me a lot of happiness to know my girl was content without me there. It's a shame we no longer live in the area but I can't recommend Karen enough to RVA folks who live within her service area.

SArah and her group are beyond great. They handle our tiny cat with breathing problems and our…read morelarge blind/deaf dog without any issue

We left two of our dogs at home for a little more than two weeks while we were out-of-town. These…read moreare both dogs who had never been boarded or left behind before. One is ten years old and the other a little more than 1 1/2 years old--and we were very concerned about their welfare without us around to take care of them. (Yes, they're both spoiled.) We decided that leaving them at home would be better than boarding them and contacted Sarah based upon the recommendation of our groomer. We could not have been more pleased with the result. Sarah had three young people who made four visits each day for the 2+ week period. They reliably showed up on time each day and fed, walked and played with the dogs during the visits. (It did take a couple of days before the dogs adjusted to the change in their routines but they generally did adjust--although one had eating issues but that was because he is a little neurotic and had nothing to do with the care provided. In fact, the sitters went out of their way to work with that particular dog to get him to eat.) We received detailed daily reports about each visit by email, with pictures. Most importantly, we were quickly contacted with any issues or questions that arose. We would absolutely use Sarah Sits again and highly recommend them to anyone who wishes to have pets cared for in their own environments.

My dog loves this place! He's starts crying when we get close. He can't wait to get out and go…read moreplay with the other doggies. The owners are wonderful, kind and very caring people. They want the best for your pet and treat them as if they were theirs.

Absolutely LOVE this place!! They take amazing care of our dog and he's always so excited when we…read morepull up so I know he loves it as much as we do!! They made special notes in his file, like how he gets anxious in thunderstorms, so they could take special care with his unique personality. When our trip was unexpectedly extended an extra day, they were more than accommodating. They truly went above and beyond to make sure he had everything he needed for the extra day. When our pup was too stubborn to get in the car, they gave me a hand and helped lift him safely into the back of my Jeep for the ride home. Couldn't speak more highly of this amazing place!!

I can't say enough good things about the folks at Barksley. I have a very large Malamute/Husky mix…read morewho is very opinionated and only likes some people. He is hard to manage and I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to find care for him. Lindsey and Olivia have become his very best friends, and I trust them completely to take the best care of him. I recommended Barksley to my Veterinary office as well as my friends. I highly recommend that you check them out! (photos of my happy boy with his Barksley besties)

You know the cliche trope of "when you're looking for love you don't find it but when you're not…read morelooking it finds you"? Well, that's how I feel about Barksley. I don't like asking friends to pet sit for my 4 cats when I'm out of town since they won't let me pay them, and I feel that I'm burdening them. Another pet sitter we tried was good but not always available when we needed. I had given up on finding a perfect fit for us, since most of the time I searched online for pet sitters, they were dog-centric. Then one day someone from Barksley left a flyer in my mailbox. It seemed like the exact service I was needing. They offer variable length visits (30,45,60 minutes), are available on holidays, evenings, and weekends, and love cats as much as dogs! They scheduled a meet and greet before the first visit where I showed them how to care for our babies step by step, and they took notes. They seemed like they actually liked our cats instead of it being just a chore. They were friendly and I felt comfortable with them in my home. They have a great website where you can log in to request visits, pay invoices, leave notes and messages for sitters. It's so great to have it all in one place and electronic. They went above and beyond during their service for us. -They brought in packages (including a really big one). -They cleaned the dishes after each meal!! Which I really appreciate, since the babies like to eat on clean plates each time and it's healthier for them, and some sitters historically haven't cared to bother doing that and instead just put new food down onto crusty old food -They provide a VERY DETAILED update after each visit, right down to how many poops and pees were in the litter box. And there's never too many details when you're away from and missing your beloved pets!! And they include lots of pictures -I promise we didn't creepily spy on them through ring cameras, but a couple times when we got notifications and looked on the video, we felt the people of Barksley really did ENJOY the time with our cats, like they were happy to be there. -one of the cats vomited (as cats do) on the couch at one point, and Emma cleaned it up!! Never had a sitter do that before. So impressed! Overall the team did such a great job taking care of our clowder that we will use them for as long as they service our area. I'm glad to have finally found the perfect sitters for us!

While I did not have a bad impression of the facility it was without a trainer at this time, my…read morewhole reason for looking. I also did not realize how indoctrinated places like this are with requiring vaccination of your pet for attendance. And then continual repeat vaccination for certain things. With all that has been unearthed about the contents of the vaccines and the side effects you would think there would be some flexibility or exemption for the owner's beliefs. This facility is not the only one I looked at and this requirement was standard in the others as well. I chose an individual pet sitter instead.

We recently visited the kennel in May of 2024 and was impressed with the layout, and running space…read morefor dogs. We planned on a 4 hours dog assessment for future daycare and boarding but was turned away because they required annual dog flu shots. The initial flu shots are spaced at 2-4 weeks. We did not know if this requirement until the day of dog assessment day. Therefore, off to the vet to get additional shots before my dog can stay. Disappointed!

I used the sitter at Cool Dogs for years before we moved to a different place. My cat sitter became…read morelike a friend and cared so deeply for my cats. Highly recommend this local business to anyone.

We've used Cool Dogs for over 10 years for in-home petsitting. Elyse is conscientious and very…read moreprofessional, leaving notes with each visit, sending photos to let us know all is well, and asking questions about anything that may come up while we're away. Best of all, all of our dogs (past and present) and cats LOVE her!!

I recently moved to Richmond and needed someone to watch my cat over Christmas week. They responded…read moreto my request immediately. The pricing is extremely reasonable. We set up the "meet and greet" and multiple employees came over to see where the food, water, litter, etc is and to meet my cat. Everyone wore masks to comply with covid precautions. Over the week they were extremely professional and took great care of my cat. They stayed with him for 30 minutes per day and played with him in addition to cleaning the litter and preparing his food. They even cleaned up a little leak I had after it rained really hard one day. After each visit I got a detailed email with all they did and multiple cat photos. I'm always so worried about my cat when I go away and they made me feel so much better. I'm so so happy with this service and will 100% be using them again!

New to Richmond and in need of a great pet sitter, I 'm so happy to have found Kate. We had a…read more"Meet & Greet" with my two felines (who have special needs), and I could tell she was relaxed and confident with pets. She carried out all my instructions and provided me with updates. Very satisfied!! Grace

These folks are amazing. I called them to get urgent help for me door-eating dog, and they came…read moreover that same day to meet him. By the end of the week they had him on a schedule, walking 3 times a week for a half hour, to train him to walk on a leash. Once he can do that (which may take a while, he's hard-headed :)) he is going to go on adventure walks with them, which are basically long hikes with 2-3 dogs at a time, that completely tire your pooch out. I have two walkers that work with my dog, and they are both awesome. They send me an email after every walk, with pictures of my dog and a progress report of how he's doing. They also are bonded and insured, and offer to keep keys to the house so they can come in while you are at work and exercise the pooch. And get this- it's $20 for the walk... and $5 for every extra 15 mins! And that is for one or two dogs... very reasonable. So much so that I can definitely afford the 3 days a week walking, and seeing my puppy so happy at the end of the day is worth it. Love these guys.

UPDATE: 7/23/17: I'm…read morewriting an update to this review 7 years later, still as a loyal client of Canine Adventure. Unfortunately, my 3 boys (Ozzy, Tyler, and Bono) have since passed away, but my 2 new pups (Cannon and Hollywood) are still regular adventurers. They get to go hiking and swimming with Marti every couple of weeks - with Cannon generally finding some enormous stick or piece of trash to keep him entertained and Holly swimming laps in the river and playing chase with other dogs. They always come home happy and tired. There is a review posted from someone named "Matin" (which I assume is made up as it is a brand new account and contains false information) that says someone from Richmond Boxer Rescue steered him away from CA. I am the founder and president of RBR and a loyal client for almost 10 years now. Many of my fosters and volunteers use them and love them as well. NO ONE from my organization knows who this person is or said anything negative about CA, so that is a blatant lie. Review from 2010: I cannot say enough good things about Josh and Canine Adventure! Aside from actually being able to sometimes make my boxer, Ozzy, slightly tired (a nearly impossible feat), Josh was always reliable, responsible and ended up being a good friend! My own dogs (Ozzy, Tyler and Bono) were lucky to get Adventure Walks with him every week! The highlight of their week was seeing Josh pull up in front of the house! In addition to working with my own dogs, Josh graciously worked with my many fosters through Richmond Boxer Rescue. He donates his time to several other local rescue groups as well. The walks and training were an invaluable asset to the foster dogs as were the AMAZING photos he would take on the walks! We moved to the west coast but would still be loyal clients if we were in Richmond! I so wish there were a service like this available here!

Wyatt is terrific and the positive reinforcement training is top notch. We got a rescue dog that…read morehad a few issues and Wyatt is working with us - retraining both the dog and the people - for a better life. Really appreciate the great information he imparts and the calm, effective training he's doing with me and the dog. We've already seen improvement after only a few sessions. He explains that our job is to get the dog to "want to do what you want them to do." We accomplish this through lots of love and positive reinforcement. Kuddos Wyatt!

Thank you Wyatt for helping us with our 4 legged big baby. At 125 pounds, it's so important that…read moreour girl is socialized, obedient, and a good canine citizen. You're training for our pup as well as our family has been invaluable.