Very caring and patient staff. Grooming academy was a wonderful experience i would highly recommend for anyone looking for a career working with dogs read more

Just Great to have fancy paws. Retired we use intermittently and they are accommodating, nice and great with our two Airdales. Also a good easy to use online appointment and billing. A gem we've used for years. Highly recommend. read more

Fancy Paws - The satisfied customers - Dog Walkers Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This review is long overdue, but very much deserved. I used Fancy Paws for over a year and a half to watch my senior cat Josette whenever I was traveling for work or personal. Scheduling was super easy through their online system, always received quick confirmation, and was able schedule longer visits to make sure she received enough love. They also made sure to try to almost always schedule our regular sitter Andy to give Josette as much familiarity and comfort whenever I was gone. The last several months of Josette's life required a lot of medication and food changes which Andy was always attentive to. I'm so grateful for all the love and care they gave her and absolutely recommend working with them! read more

This is an addendum to my previous review because shout out to the real MVPs at Fancy Paws! Poor little Millie wasn't feeling too great today and pooped (the very runny kind) her crate, which she hadn't done since I first brought her home 4 months ago. Chris promptly texted me what had happened and told me they were staying a little longer just to clean up. If this doesn't show you how caring and wonderful these people are, I don't know what will! I asked if they had a cleaning fee, to which they answered no that they didn't mind. Because of her condition, I asked to add two more puppy walks last minute for tomorrow, and they gladly agreed. (In case you're wondering, poor little Millie was found with giardia - a parasite - in her system, so her tummy wasn't feeling great at all. Giardia is found in the environment and can be contracted through daily puppy activities like licking puddles and eating sticks.) Besides today's incident, Millie has not had an accident in her crate since walking with Fancy Paws. She is at almost two months of completely no accidents in the house (knock on wood). It was a tough decision getting a puppy with a full-time job, but Fancy Paws has done a wonderful job with giving Millie the attention she deserves. I've been told by my roommate that Millie absolutely adores her walkers. I highly recommend them and I cannot say enough good things. read more

Wonderful owners! I was in a unique situation in that I was home the majority of time that the dog walker would come, so I truly got to know them. It was always the same person unless the regular person needed to be out of town. Always kind, courteous and friendly. Super reliable and took great care of my aging dog. read more

Great people behind this company. We loved that we had the same dog walker the whole time we used them. They made it so easy to schedule walks with their app and if something needed to be discussed with more detail, we'd just text with Chris, the owner. We moved out of the area during the pandemic, which is the only reason we stopped having them walk our two little ones. Recommen! read more

Fancy Paws has walked our dog Dane since we adopted him in Jan 2015. Anges & Chris have been amazing since day 1 - extremely responsive via text/email and very flexible. My husband and I travel quite a bit and work everyday downtown so it is nice having such a reliable & flexible service we can count on. They send great updates daily which come via email with a photo of our dog along with updates, including if he is sick or anything. We have primarily had Doogin & Marta as our walkers and always feel our pup is in the best of hands! We have referred several friends that have used their service for years as well and only have great things to say. Thank you Chris & Agnes! read more

The Fancy Paws team is wonderful to work with. We have used their services for a number of years and have had nothing but positive experiences. The team is responsive and the client web portal is very easy to use. Most importantly, all the people are those I trust with our dog and entering our home. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Fancy Paws to those looking for dog walking services. read more

Fantastic dog walking and dog sitting services! We've used Fancy Paws for the past 2 years and would highly recommend them to anyone in the Chicago area. Friendly, professional, quick responses, and seamless /easy booking process. Our dog truly loves his walkers! read more

We've used Fancy Paws for 2.5 years, in two Chicago neighborhoods, ever since our puppy was 12 weeks old! Chris, Agnes, and the walkers are always so kind, flexible, and communicative via text and email. Our pup is a bit timid and really enjoys the routine of having a consistent walker. We will never use another service! read more

I have been using Fancy Paws for just over a month now and have been incredibly impressed with their services. I recently adopted a puppy and was very selective in who would be helping to take her for daily walks. The owner personally came over to meet us both before we scheduled the first walk. Since then, Toan has been incredible. He has always been on time, taken some great pics of Nala on their walks, and even cleaned up after a few of her puppy messes. Beyond that, the scheduling has been incredibly easy with both adding on additional walks and some last minute cancellations. Auto payment has all been accurate and the email notifications are helpful just to double check. Looking forward to continuing to use their services! read more

If I could I'd give 10 stars... Andy has been our doggie caregiver for many years. He is dependable honest and trustworthy. My dogs love him and greet him as if he is a part of the family. Andy is walking the dogs and also has stayed overnight when we traveled. Chris has accommodated us with quick responses and flexibility if needed. Highest recommendations! read more

This service was extremely accommodating and took great care of my pup! They are very flexible with times and make sure they work out the best schedule for your dog as you need it! read more

We loved working with Fancy Paws and would happily recommend them! We moved outside of their range so we sadly had to switch! We also found them easy to use, friendly, and our dog loved them. read more

We used fancy paws to walk our brand new Cavapoo and we had a wonderful experience! The dog walkers were always prompt and left updates/photos after each visit. Highly recommend! read more

I've been using Fancy Paws for a little over two years to visit my two cats. 1-2 times a month I have to travel for work and usually only have a few days of notice. Agnes is always super responsive via email when I make requests so I can relax knowing that the cats will be well taken care of. They always send along photos from each visit as well, which is a nice touch. I originally chose them because they are one of the least expensive options for cat visits ($15 during week, $20 on weekends), but stayed with them because the service was great. Their new online portal for scheduling visits is a great addition and makes it super easy to request multiple days at one time. Thanks Agnes and Chris! read more

This review is long overdue!!! I first started using Chris and Agnes in 2009 after I rescued my dog Maggie. Over the years, I've watched them grow their business and expand their family (with tiny humans and pets!). They have always treated us like family and I know I could always trust them to take care of my girl like she was their own. I have even relied on them to help me out when I locked myself out of the house (sad to say it's happened on more than one occasion). After 7 years together, Maggie and I had to bid farewell to Chris, Agnes, and the Fancy Paws crew. Not because we wanted to but because we've moved out of state. They still text me to check in with us and to tell us they miss us. If you're looking for the best people to care for your furry family, look no further. read more

We used Fancy Paws for about 9 months. The owner was very nice but after a few issues, we have stopped using their service. For starters, they constantly came earlier than the 2 hour window we had provided. One day, I was home and the walker did not realize it and she came about 90 minutes earlier than the start of the window we provided. I left the house about 10 minutes after she had left with my dog (she did not know I was home and did not see me). When I went outside, she was standing outside my place on the phone with my dog just sniffing the tree right in front of my place. When she saw me and I told her I was the owner, she then said "Oh! I still have 15 minutes left" and walked away with him. Clearly, he was not getting actual walks and the walker was not paying attention to him. Another time. I saw the walker walking my dog and he was pulling her and she had no control over him. My dog is only 30 pounds and wears a harness. I admit he does pull but he is not strong enough to force an adult to lose control. Flash forward a while, we had a check that was for someone else taken off our counter. The owner was apologetic and said it was just an automatic response to seeing a check on a counter but it seemed careless. We most recently had an issue with the walker constantly locking the wrong door (from the inside of the house) instead of locking the bolt lock from the outside, Not only do we not have a key to the bottom door knob, we want the door bolt locked. It happened 3 times within a two week span. On the third time, the owner of Fancy Paws blamed our cleaning lady. She has been cleaning for us for a year and has never locked the wrong door knob, so it is hard to believe that she did it and not his walker who had done it twice in a week before. Regardless, enough was enough and we decided to move on. I think the owner of Fancy Paws is nice but his staff are not so great. read more

I have been a daily (weekdays) client of Fancy Paws for the past 5 years and I cannot say enough good things about this company. They are SUPER responsive and flexible with my walks and there have been times where I have needed to add an extra walk at the last minute due to my work schedule and they always accommodate. I have been fortunate to have the same walker this whole time and he is a true GEM. Andy has a following here in the West Loop and all the dogs go bonkers when they see him- a good sign how well he takes care of them. I have a friend who works from home and she has even commented (unsolicited by me) on how great Andy is with my pup. It is a good feeling to know your fur baby is always in great hands. I am SO grateful to have been referred to Fancy Paws- I always send anyone I know their way. read more

I was very disappointed with my first experience with Fancy Paws because the visit was cut short without explanation and the dog walker lied about how long they were with my dog. The key system at my building tells you when keys are checked out and returned at the visit was about 10 minutes shorter than it should have been. It's a 25 minute visit not a 25 minute walk but my key was only checked out 13 minutes. The dog Walker even delayed sending me photos to make it seem like they were with them the full visit and also showed up a full hour early for the walk. I gave this business 3 stars (updated from 2) because they did correct the mistake by issuing me a full refund, a letter of apology, and even a $10 gift-card for Starbucks. This was a stellar customer service move. I only hope that Fancy Paws gets better walkers. With this level of attention to customer service they could really provide something special if they had better, more reliable employees. read more

Reliable and well organised. We have been using Fancy Paws for daily walks for the past few months. Fancy Paws offers a personable yet professional service. They use an online platform that allows us to easily add and remove visits as required. This allows flexibility to cancel a walk up to 9am on the same day. In addition to this, a report is issued via email after each walk including a photo of your pet. Chris and Agnes are responsive to email queries and do everything they can to ensure that our pup enjoys his short walk each day. read more

I have used Fancy Paws for the past 7.5 years for my small dog for both regular walks and overnight stays, and they have been super reliable. I do not have to worry about no-shows, as they have never missed a walk. Communication is good too. I can text and email and always get a prompt response, and the online portal makes it easy to adjust schedules when needed. Highly recommend! read more

DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. The Fancy Paws dog walker got my dog hit by a car and didn't bother to take the dog to an emergency vet. They wouldn't even move the dog off the street. I'm sure they will find some way to defer fault, but if you care about your pet, find a better service. read more

DO NOT USE Owners unresponsive, and dog walkers are irresponsible. They are often hours early or late, and did not bother to give me notice when they were unable to walk my dog, waiting until I reached out to let me know. When I messaged them to confront them about it, no response. The portal is extremely dated, and walks will take hours to a full day to get confirmed. There are much better services out there in Chicago, just use google. Don't let the price trick you. read more

Fancy Paws was recommended to is by another pet sitting service located in the Western 'burbs. We needed someone to com take care of our 2 very social cats while we were away on our honeymoon for 8 days. We called them about 1 week before we were leaving. My husband contacted them by phone and got a return call immediately. Chris came to our house to meet our cats and for us to show him the ropes. Our kitties are pretty low maintenance, but one of them has peculiar eating habits, as in she scarfs everything at once and barfs it up. SAD. So we have to feed her a little but at a time, which takes about 15 minutes total. Chris was very kind and you could tell he really loved animals. We had no worries about our cats being visited by Chris once a day for the time we were gone. The reason for only four stars is that we had 6 cans of wet food out, and we explained they get about 1-2 tablespoons a day. When we returned only one can was left....so our kitties were VERY well fed. read more

We have been with Fancy Paws for a year and a half now which includes one move. They have been great the whole time. Even when random little issues pop up (because they always do with pets) they are timely with responses and responsible. Their website is very easy to use as well. Thanks Fancy Paws! read more

Chris and Anges are great business owners! My husband and I went to Europe for a week. We hired Fancy Paws to come to our house, play with our baby (yorkie), and clean his messes. They emailed us everyday with a picture to give us a piece of mind while we were away from our baby. We will be using their services anytime we decide to take a vacation! read more

Fancy Paws goes above and beyond to make sure your pet is taken care of! I had an emergency hospital visit where I couldn't get home to take care of my cat, so I called Agnes and Chris and they assured me they would take care of him that day! You don't get service like that from many places in the city. They'll do whatever needs to be done in order to ensure your pet(s), are taken care of. They're licensed and insured, extremely trustworthy, and best of all, my cat loves Chris. If you're considering anyone else, STOP, because these are the people you want to trust your pets with. read more

My wife and I started enjoying the services that Fancy Paws provides after a series of issues with our old service. Chris was great, he came by, spent some time talking about the issues, assuring us how his company would be different. Since then we've used them for everything from daily walks to vacation coverage! The price of service is in line and quality of service consistently exceeds expectations. They're great read more

Fancy Paws is a trustworthy and reliable dog walking service. They are a true joy in my French Bulldog's day and I feel confident that he is receiving love and affection while I am at work. The communication regarding the visits is very helpful and I look forward to reading the updates every day. Highly recommend this amazing company! read more

The owners, Chris and Agnes, are great. Chris is our walker. (We used to use CDW for our late little dog. After he died, we got two new dogs. For almost two months we tried to regain CDW services, but they had nobody available in our area, even after they said they were hiring more people. We had been quite happy with CDW, as well.) So we've been using Fancy Paws since September, and we couldn't be happier. They are very attentive and always available by phone. We have also used their house-sitting service a few times (one of their employees stays overnight with the dogs and walks them during the day). It was a comfort to know the dogs were in good hands. read more

I have been using Fancy Paws for a month now to walk my puppy, Brinkley, and I couldn't be happier! Chris and Agnes are so nice and always so responsive to my emails and texts. My puppy wasn't feeling well so we had to cancel some of his walks and they reached out to me later in the day just to check in and see how he was doing. They really care about their customers. Our walker, Toan, is incredible. He follows my instructions for Brinkley's care perfectly and the funny notes and pictures he leaves in the email update are the highlight of my day. He takes extra time and care to do some small training and socialization exercises with Brinkley while he is walking him and you can tell it pays off. My neighbors have bumped into him around the building and remarked to me how good he is with Brinkley. I chose Fancy Paws because of their reasonable prices and their usability. I love having an easy-to-use online portal and the flexibility to cancel or schedule unexpected services until 9:00am the day of. But the kindness and quality service I have received along with that has exceeded my expectations. read more

I do agree with all of these other comments and am happy to hear others are having such success with Fancy Paws as well! Not one, but two of my clients recommended Fancy Paws when my dog Winnie was a puppy. I interviewed three different services and chose Chris. Winnie and I have been using Fancy Paws for nearly two years now, and receive walks three days a week. Winnie just loves her walker Ricky and I've had TWO different neighbors come up to me and tell me how they see Ricky walking around the block with Winnie, adding that I "have a good walker." Chris is professional, always available, responds back almost immediately to any of my communications, and is so flexible when I've had last-minute emergencies. I love the report cards with comments received for each walk and we especially loved our holiday treats last year! Would reccomend Fancy Paws to anyone. read more

Chris is AMAZING! He has been walking our wheaten terrier, Charlie, for about a year, and my wife and I couldn't be happier with the service. Chris comes daily to take our little man for a 25 min. stroll around the neighborhood. He's consistently here within the same window of time every day. Typically around 1pm or 1:30. He'll re-fill his water dish too as needed without me having to mention it. He always leaves a note detailing Charlie's "business" and whether he got to socialize with another dog that he occasionally pairs our pup up with. He also goes out of his way to text me with any updates too. We both work chaotic hours, and he has been nothing but flexible when we ask for an additional evening walk at the last minute or if we cancel the night before. He is always warm, upbeat and smiling - the kind of person you feel comfortable letting into your house when you're not home. Charlie loves him too, which I've seen firsthand on days when I'm unexpectedly working from home and get to see the two of them interact. Their rates are incredibly competitive too. New clients receive a special intro rate of $10/walk for the first couple months and then it only increases to $12. If you've done any research you'll know that $12 is on the low to medium end of the scale for a 25 min. dog walk in the city. The peace of mind, however, of working with someone as trustworthy, responsive and friendly as Chris is priceless. read more

We're all big fans of Fancy Paws here - me, the husband, and our furbabies, Molly and Jet. They are always reliable, even when I forget to email schedule changes way ahead of time and do it the night before, and they are always able to accommodate. Rates are extremely reasonable, and I can relax at work knowing the pups are being taken care of. They left Christmas treats for both Molly and Jet, as well as treats for us humans. Wonderful! read more

Fancy Paws has walked my pup Lulu for the past year now and I'm very happy with their services. I started off having them come only 3 times a week and now I've upped that amount to 5 times per week after seeing how batty with excitement she would get when our walker Eva would arrive. Some of the best aspects: 1) Your dog will receive a 'review' for the day after the walk, that details whether or not a #1 or #2 was achieved, and any additional pertinent information. 2) In the winter months, I was worried that my small dog would freeze outside, however, Eva let us know that she would take Lulu to the car for a bit if she started shivering. 3) If you are not scheduled for 5 walks a week, you can always shoot one of the owners a text to schedule something, same day. They are very accommodating with the scheduling. 4) They will often walk your dog with another dog or two, which I like because my dog loves the interaction with her 'BFF,' another dog from the neighborhood. Our dog walker even left Lulu a Christmas present this year - very thoughtful. I'm so glad I found a good dog walker! l read more

We love Fancy paws! Chris & his wife are so nice and our dog loves them! They leave a little note about their walk every day and it is only $12 for a 20 minute walk. We always laugh about how our pup has a best friend that we don't even know. I highly recommend Fancy Paws - about 4 of our friends do now too! read more

A wonderful job taking care of my kitty while we were out of town! Chris was very responsive and sent us a daily update of how she was doing, including photos. I will consider Fancy Paws again! read more

Fancy Paws is a wonderful service! They help us with our normal weekday walking for our pup as well as weekend watching when we are out of town. They have a simple online system to book or cancel dates and are also very responsive by email. You receive an email with a log once they have visited as well. We would definitely recommend! read more

We used Fancy Paws for a week long overnight stay in our home while we were on vacation. Our 14 y/o cattle dog has been battling cancer and had just gone through a period of non-eating and being lethargic, but had just started to be on the mend when we had to go to Mexico for a week (for a family destination wedding, otherwise we might have just cancelled our vacay). If I could give this company six stars I would. From beginning to end, the professionalism, punctuality and politeness of these folks was peerless. Chris and Agnes, the owners, are quick to respond by text or email to get the client on-boarding process done. Once they assigned their employee who would be staying at our house to take care of our dog, Matt, he went out of his way to make me feel comfortable that he knew what he was doing and would take good care of our dog and our house. He spent a lot of time with me, listening to me go over the same things about her care again and again, was extremely patient and understanding of the fact that we were leaving our sick baby for a week and needed to ensure she got the best care. And boy, did she get the best care! Matt texted or emailed me pictures and updates daily. When we returned, our dog was sleeping peacefully and without stress. I told Matt to try to fatten her up (the cancer has taken its toll on her weight) and I'll be damned--he did it! She definitely gained a couple pounds while were gone, a testament to his attentiveness and ability to gain her trust in a short amount of time. I don't write a lot of reviews on here, but Fancy Paws has just made a lifelong customer out of me, and I wanted to share my experience so others can benefit from their fantastic service. read more