I recently adopted a little dog from Animal Refugee Response in San Pablo and me and the dog have…read morebecome inseparable from one another, well some thing came up and we were going to have to be apart for a few days. I didn't have a clue about what services were available, I didn't want to put her in a kennel because I thought it would be to stressful for her so I asked Blythe at Animal Refugee Response where I had adopted my dog from what she thought I should do and she Suzi's. She gave the the number to Suzi's Personal Pet Care and I gave her a call and explained my situation to her and she set up and appointment to meet me and my dog and see what she thought would be best for me and my dog. when I first met Suzi I could tell that Blythe had sent me to the right person, my dog was very at ease with Suzi as we discussed the various options as to the care she could provide and we decided it would be best for my dog to stay in her new home and to have Suzi come by twice a day to take her for a walk and feed her and look after her to be sure she was doing ok, Well I got back from my trip and my dog was in great spirits, my kitchen looked somehow in better shape than I remembered leaving it and my dog seems to have learned to not pull on it's leash as much. Thanks Suzi, the picture's you sent me of my dog were a wonderful surprise and let me see she was doing well.

After putting a lot of thought and waiting a few days so I can be more logical about the situations…read morethat Suzie and her business put us through, I will start from the beginning so all dog owners and animal lovers in general that are looking for a good dog sitting/boarding business can grasp just a bit of what we went through. Me and my husband found Suzie's pet care on Yelp, we lived very close to her and my husband was pleased with the rates she was offering, on the other hand I did notice a 1star review from a previous client (that Suzie has managed to remove through yelp) stating that her dog was bitten by another dog under Suzie's care and she was concerned about the amount of negligence that caused the poor dog to be bitten so horribly. That scared me but my husband wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and we really wanted to save money on our travels (big mistake) so I called and talked to Suzie regarding this review I noticed and how it concerned me, she responded by how she learned from that mistake and how she had responded to the review, which was great and all ..then she went on assuring me that my dog would be in good hands. We picked our dog up the first time after we had her boarded and everything seemed fine except my dog smelled like a cigarette head to toe. I was so upset and disappointed but I just let it go, how ever we needed to find a dog sitter for our next trip months later, so I contacted Suzie and addressed the smoke smell on our dog that wouldn't go away. The one thing I did like about her service was the fact that she would send pictures and updates, she told me it was "the fireplace " they use.. well if that's the case I'm more concerned about the amount of smoke vs. oxygen in her home and how come my dog smells more like a cigarette then your home when we walk in? My husband didn't think we had enough proof to think other wise so again my dog for the last time went under Suzie's care while we left for Thailand 11 days. Suzie contacts my Husband via what's app to let him know her father passed,and she had to leave town and she's leaving our dog with her daughter.Now at this point we are concerned but we want to be sensitive towards her situation because I know how it feels to lose a parent, but Suzie failed to communicate with her daughter and with us, we did not even get a courtesy call or perhaps to ask if we were ok with this change, she tells us she's leaving our dog with her 23 year old daughter, that we never had any contact or communication with up until we dropped off my dog and she was Asked by her mother(Suzie) to come say hello. A couple of days go by and we have tried to contact Suzie via phone, text the business anywhere we possibly could email to see how our dog is doing, No response what so ever. I was having a anxiety attack and tried to book a flight back home from my birthday trip just so I can go get my dog and make sure she is still alive and well. I couldn't enjoy my trip nor did I want to stay anymore at that point. Long story short my cousins go to pick our dog two days before we are supposed to come back, because we couldn't book a flight without paying a extra $$800. While we are on FaceTime and my cousins are picking up my dog , the daughter of Suzie didn't even know which crate belonged to my dog, how could you not know something so simple which is where she was sleeping? Come to find out not only did Suzie leave and not have her daughter communicate with us she also thought it was ok for her daughter to sleep in a bed with my dog. No Suzie it is not ok, it is not ok for you to leave clients that pay you in advance worried and just leave without asking us if we are comfortable with this situation, your business is separate from your personal issues and as much as we are sorry for your loss, our dog is our family too and we expect the proper care you promise to serve and provide. I have attached a few text messages regarding this situation so you can see what type of responses we were getting and please yelpers do your research! A few good reviews doesn't assure safety and security anymore I'm afraid.

My girlfriend and I spent 4 months trying to find a dogsitter that we trusted. After 1/2 dozen dog…read moresitters, we found Ted and ever since, we've never had our dog stay with anyone else. We've had Ted sit our dog 4 times now and everytime our dog comes back to us, he seems happy, healthy, and filled with energy. Ted is super trustworthy, communicative, and responsive. He regularly sends pictures of our dog while we are gone and when our flights have gotten delayed, Ted has been super flexible in extending our dog's stay with him. I can't recommend Ted enough.

How lucky was I to find Ted? A friend backed out last-minute on watching our nervous pup who is…read morealmost never alone. (He goes with us to work.) We had had a 2-week vacation scheduled, are new-ish to the nuances of the dog-raising world, and thought we'd have to cancel our trip. (We hadn't gone away together since we got our dog almost 2 years ago.) Enter Ted. A calm, smart, thoughtful, responsible, kind, dog-loving, funny man who watches dogs--and who my pup did not run away from at first glance. :) He managed both our pup's and our anxieties. He was communicative throughout our trip, sent us photos and videos when we missed him... And when the pup has seen Ted since the "big stay," he does the happiest little dance. It can be nervewracking to leave your dog, but leaving him with Ted was the best decision we could have made. Ted's presence helped me feel calm, and I just knew Pup would be safe with him. I will be forever grateful to Ted, and hope we have many more opportunities for the pup to get to visit his new friend. Please excuse the gushing! :)

France is the BEST. She is so sweet, and I feel so happy every time I leave our dog Bandit with her…read morebecause I know he will be cared for with a gentle and loving hand. Once, I was snowed in for 4 days and unable to get a flight back to California, and not only did France continue to care for Bandit, but she sent me near-daily emails telling me he was okay and not to worry about the delay in my return. I have never found someone like her to care for Bandit while I was gone. It's such a relief to know that my furry friend is in good hands while I'm gone. Some more detail: she doesn't take large dogs anymore (I think), and she was extremely detailed in asking questions about Bandit's habits and medicine and likes/dislikes. She even took Bandit for a day to get to know him a week prior to his stay with her, which I felt was a testament to her care and meticulousness. She did follow up with several emails making sure she knew how to handle his food and medicine, which I appreciated. She also is just a kind person in general. She appreciates the personal touch, as do I, so I feel I have gotten to know her a bit as well. Thanks, France!

France is a wonderful pet sitter who cares about her clients and their pet parents. We have been…read moretaking our 2 dogs to France for many years since our family members who we traded dog sitting with moved away. She is very attentive and truly loves dogs. Our minds are always at ease knowing our girls are in good hands!

So grateful to have found Mabi. She's professional, flexible, responsive, and great with animals…read more Our Australian Cattle Dog loves her. Great pricing, too. Highly recommended.

Mabi is a life saver. She is the only person that I trust to take care of my cat, Lynx, when I'm…read moreout of town. She is extremely reliable and responsive. Moreover, I can tell that she genuinely loves and cares about my cat. One time he was lost (stuck in a garage) and she even found him for me! Do not hesitate to reach out to Mabi for your pet sitting needs!

This review is long, long overdue. Elana, Jeff and Sylvester have been watching our Waffles 3-4…read moredays a week now for almost three years, and they've been nothing short of amazing. They are caring, flexible, timely, responsive and Waffles absolutely adores them. In addition to joining them on daily off leash hikes all across Oakland and Berkeley, we've left Waffles overnight with Action Dog about a dozen times. Bottom line is that we have the ultimate trust in this team and know that Waffles is always in good, loving hands with them. They really are his second set of parents and we can't say enough good things about the impact they've had on our lives.

We've been working with Action Dog for the past 3.5 years and couldn't be happier with Jeff and his…read moreoutstanding team (especially Anna). They've remained patient with us through all of our dog's little quirks, and we know he gets super excited every time he hears their car pull into the driveway. He always comes back from his hikes happy and exhausted, and we've noticed his recall has improved significantly since we started working with Action Dog. We couldn't recommend Action Dog enough. We have complete trust when it comes to them taking care of our dog, as well as picking up/dropping off from our house even in moments when we're not around. Sadly we're moving out of the area and will hopefully be lucky enough to find similar care for our dog.

Our dog Harvey's favorite part of the day is going out to some of the East Bay's most fabulous and…read morefun (for dogs) locations with Lorraine and his buddies in her pack. Harvey loves her and we completely trust her. She puts safety first and gives a thorough report every time they go out. Lorraine is highly highly recommended.

WOW! Is all we can say. Murphy the 13 year old Corgi and his humble mistress have had Leash…read moreLorraine as our walker for more than 7 years. Lorraine is attentive, communicative, caring, and trusted not just of Murphy but for our home and Murphy LOVES her. From long outings to notes about the walk, to training advice as our boy has aged, to a hospital visit when Murphy was under the weather 3 years ago, Lorraine truly cares about her pack and with the dogs she passes the sniff test from day one.

Both of our dogs loved to come there. The staff were attentive, knowledgeable and flexible.read more

Update - almost a year later and Clara is still ignoring customers - including myself. She will…read morealso have me waiting for my dog for 5-7 minutes, particularly while I'm the only client there. I'm sorry, but her attitude is very frustrating.

At 3 1/2 weeks an adorable tiny mutt fell into our laps. Fast forward 7 months and our small pup…read morehad become an 65 pound ball of energy who needs lots of exercise and training. We saw Nick and his pack on the trails several times and we were always so impressed with how responsive his dogs were and how much obvious fun they were having. Nick has been taking our guy out for hikes now for about 4 months and we feel so, so lucky to have Nick in our lives. Louie, our now giant 80 lb 1 year old, always comes back exhausted and happy. Nick goes above and beyond getting his pack out, getting exercise and having fun. A fringe benefit is some great auxiliary training for Lou. Nick also makes sure Lou is dried off (if needed) and often brushed upon returning home. An added bonus are the great videos Nick posts on Barking Buddhas' Instagram account. So much fun to see your pup living his best life with the pack and Nick : ) I always tell Louie he's my best friend but I don't kid myself about who HIS best friend is--100% Nick. Best dog walker/human being out there!!!

Nick is high energy and caring guy and it shows when being around Sheba. He has been walking Sheba…read morefor over 4 months now and he gives her plenty of love and attention, plus he tires her out big time so that when she gets home all she wants to do is eat and sleep. He takes her plus the other dogs to various locations to really work her. From just playing fetch at a field to long hikes in the Redwoods. If your looking for a great dog walker but also a great person Nick and Barking Buddhas Dog Walking is the place to take your furry family member because they will continue to be treated like family with Nick.