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.

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!

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.

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!

I was looking for a new dog walker when my dog and I moved here, and I'm so happy we found leash…read moreand lead. They send daily updates from the walk (along with pictures) so you can see that your dog is having fun! Also, when my dog was sick, his walker, Kendall, did some of the clean-up, which I would not have expected!

Love, love, love this company! Very professionally run yet with a completely personal touch. Mel…read more(the owner) and her staff send you updates after each visit and although they come to walk my Mighty Titus, the cats come flooding down to see them after Titus is back in his room. I feel their prices are super reasonable for the travel and time, and Titus LOVES them! I recommend Lead and Leash to all my friends, and all my friends are super cool people who own pets so it works out well! You will be REALLY happy with these folks!

River City Dog Excursions has been ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I have a 1 year old aussiedoodle puppy, and…read morehis dog walker Meghin is simply outstanding. It is evident that she really loves Finnigan and treats him like royalty. My favorite thing, I would have to say, is getting pictures of him enjoying his day on walks or play dates with his "dog friends" and on nature hikes. Not only do I love how she treats him, but when I get home, he's actually tired! This whole company has gone above and beyond in my opinion, they are always on time, always reliable, and are even so dedicated as to walk Finnigan in the snow (ps: he loves the snow!). April is the one that runs the company, and from the first moment I met her I knew I was going to be impressed with the company. She had me fill out some paperwork (dog food, allergies, vet, vaccination history, etc)... which is a true sign of excellence in my opinion. I also love how there are multiple people in the company... for example, although Meghin is his normal dog walker, one time April ended up walking Finnigan because Meghin had to go out of town. Another time, I had to go out of town for the weekend and Meghin wasn't available, so another person was able to stay with him for the night. Another amazing thing too is that they make sure you get to meet the pet-sitter or dog walker before they watch your animals. Every single time, they have allowed for a free consultation so that each person can get to know the dog. I love this company and will hopefully be using them for a very long time. They're professional, reliable, personable, trustworthy, flexible, dedicated, and they LOVE YOUR ANIMALS LIKE THEIR OWN! Can't get much better than that in my opinion. Also, you get what you pay for... so although you can ask your neighbor to maybe watch your dog for free, you won't get the same attention to detail, customer service, quality, and kindness like River City Dog Excursions.

I am an overbearing dog mom and want the best for my pup and River City Dog Excursions is…read moreincredible! I'm so glad I found this company. Meghin walks and takes my pup Norman on hikes. He comes home full of smiles and immediately plops down to nap. She sends the best pictures and videos too. I was really nervous to let someone besides me have Norman off-leash with them but I can tell from the videos that he trusts Meghin and she knows how to control him! I really feel at ease that Norman gets to have so much fun during the day while I'm at work. Thanks River City Dog Excursions!

So glad I called Zach to help me establish a solid relationship with my cane corso/pit bull mix…read more Zach was beyond helpful during our month together, and my dog quickly became his biggest fan. We did training sessions at the park, the dog park and the farmers market together to work on training in real world scenarios. Since working with Zach I'm much more confident in my role as my dog's owner and I'm more confident in handling different situations that come up. As promised, Zach has remained available as questions have come up since our month wrapped up, and it feels great to know that I have an expert in my corner as Bodhi grows and continues to change. The things Bodhi and I learned from Zach continues to help us today and I know they will help for many years to come! I continue to teach Bodhi new things using techniques that Zach taught me. I highly recommend Zach for a training approach customized to your family and your dog, rather than some cookie cutter approach from a bigger company.

Zach is exactly what we were looking for! Most trainers were pushing board & train and/or using…read moree-collars, and we'd just adopted a 3-month-old puppy. We're not using an e-collar on a puppy and honestly, we didn't need her disciplined. We needed to establish a relationship and be given proper communication skills. Enter Zach! He gave us this and more! He has given us skills that we will carry with us all our lives and has transformed our relationship with our puppy. We will forever be grateful to him.

Nine years later, and TDW is still the standard by which I judge all dog walkers. They were with us…read morein our days of four dogs, then three dogs and a baby (RIP Butter), then two dogs and two babies (Isabel frolicking with her sister at the Rainbow Bridge), and many, many foster pups & kitties. Thru it all (and our crazy two career chaos) they rolled with the punches and took care of the fur-babies. We've been gone two years now, but we still keep in touch with the TDW crew. Absolutely recommend TDW to care for your loved ones like their own.

UPDATE: We moved back to the area and were thrilled to have Amy pick up where we left off. She…read morecontinues to be amazing. Because of my telework schedule, I've been home when she comes to get my girl for her walk. My pup starts looking at the door and whining about 30 minutes before her arrival and goes crazy when she sees her buddy. I am so grateful I have someone trustworthy and fur baby approved for my girl. Amy is amazing! I adopted a 18 lb rescue Terrier Mix and was not prepared for keeping her home during the work days for two weeks while her vaccines kicked in. Amy jumped in to help. She is flexible to assist with last minute schedule changes. Being military, I appreciated Amy's military family background because she understands my unique challenges and also can get on base with no problem. She even brought a harness when my little escape artist needed it. I trust her completely and am bummed she won't be going with us when we move in January. My puppy loves her, too, and can't wait for Miss Amy to visit!

I never write reviews but I had a very unpleasant experience trying to book an initial consultation…read morewith Midlothian Pet Pals. I reached out back in 2021 when my husband and I first moved to the area and received a response that they were booked for the dates I was requesting. I completely understood that as I was requesting for only a month out (it was fine, we would figure it out). I then responded looking to book for future dates but received no response back. I ended up finding an independent pet sitter for the dates I needed but thought I would reach back out a year and a half later to see if I would have better luck with a response. Again, I was told in April that they were booked solid through the end of August...I responded saying I would still like to book an initial consultation so that I would be able to request future dates. I never received a response. It was extremely off-putting that they wouldn't even take a new customer who was willing to be flexible and work around next available dates. I have now found a much more professional, friendly, and responsive pet sitting company who I have been recommending to everyone who's asked me instead. It was disappointing to say the least and I hope others have a more positive experience.

I would recommend not using this company. I have left several messages and no return call. If they…read morecan't even return your call I certainly wouldn't trust them with my pet.