I cannot say enough great things about Sharon and Pawsome Pooch Care. Some people are simply "animal people" -- they have an instinct and intuition when it comes to caring for and training animals. Sharon is absolutely one of those people. I rescued a very traumatized Cavapoo puppy several months ago and was struggling to bond with him and help him feel safe. Sharon not only helped train Paddington, but also guided me through the emotional process, giving me the tools and confidence to better support him. Before traveling with Paddington for the first time, I shared my worries and anxiety with Sharon. While he tolerated his carrier, I always had to place him inside myself. After just one session with Sharon, Paddington became obsessed with his travel carrier and flew comfortably on multiple flights. To this day, he still happily snuggles into it whenever he sees it. Sharon is punctual, diligent, and a true professional. I provide general guidelines and goals, but I completely trust her judgment to do what's best for my dog -- and she always does. Sharon truly has a gift for what she does. I'm incredibly grateful for her care and expertise and would recommend her without hesitation. read more

Pawsome Pooch Care - Huge shoutout to Ace for helping Paddington become more comfortable with bigger dogs. - Dog Walkers Near Me

I'm not usually someone who leaves reviews. Only when an experience is either unbelievably good or really bad, haha. But my experience with Sharon has truly been amazing!! I adopted my pup, Lady, from a rescue almost five years ago. She came to me very shy, and at the time she lived with an older dog, so her anxiety wasn't always obvious. Later, when I moved into a shared apartment, she would bark occasionally, but there were always people around, so I never realized how bad it actually was. Fast forward to now: I live alone with Lady and my cat, and the anxiety hit full force. Lady was barking nonstop when I left, unable to entertain herself, and overall extremely anxious. I was practically trapped in my apartment for months because of it. I tried every online tip and trick I could find, but it wasn't enough. Then I found Sharon through Rover and decided to give training a real shot. After just four sessions, the improvement has been incredible. It may not seem huge to some people, but getting Lady comfortable enough to stay in her crate without panic - and being able to leave the apartment without getting noise complaints, has been life changing. One thing I really appreciate about Sharon is how much she listens. She takes my concerns seriously and works with me on how I want to approach training. She gave me multiple training options and different speeds we could go at, which helped so much. I've often been told that full-time medication might be the next step for Lady's anxiety (she only takes situational meds), but I've never wanted to put her on something long-term unless absolutely needed. Sharon made me feel secure that we could keep training and making progress without jumping straight to that option. Having a professional who actually sees my dog's behavior and reassures me, rather than quickly pushing medication like many outside opinions, made me feel so much more comfortable and confident. If you have an older dog and you're worried you've "missed the window" for training, don't be. Sharon has been amazing at helping undo the habits Lady built over the years. I couldn't recommend her more. read more

Pawsome Pooch Care - Dog Walkers Near Me

I can't begin to describe how peaceful and comforting it is to receive updates, photos, videos, and even walking maps of my dog throughout the day from Sharon. It gave me an incredible sense of ease and truly allowed me to relax while I was out of town. Based on this first experience alone, I wouldn't hesitate to rate her five stars and beyond, I have nothing but fantastic things to say. She even used ChatGPT to create adorable, funny poems about what my dog was up to, which made the whole experience even more special and memorable. This was genuinely such a fun, reassuring, and positive experience, and I would absolutely love to book with her again and again. -Andy & Daisy read more

Just wanted to share how amazing Sharon at Pawsome Pooch Care has been with our rescue, Monty. He came to us with some quirks and nervous habits, and Sharon has been incredible from the start. She's patient, gentle, and really seems to "get" him in a way that not many people do. Monty absolutely adores her -- he literally wiggles with excitement when she shows up! We've seen such a big change in his behavior, and it's all thanks to her consistency and care. We honestly couldn't ask for anyone better. If you're looking for someone who really cares and knows what they're doing, we highly recommend her! read more

Sharon is a freaking gem. I have been boarding my dog Harvey with her for two years. He loses his mind with excitement every time I bring him to her house. She sends extremely thoughtful notes every day (with multiple pictures) and I can tell that she fully embraces and understands my dog's spirit. I think he might like her more than me and I'm not mad about it. Sharon is an amazing human being and I am so grateful to have found her. She takes my dog on LONG walks and they even play at the beach and in the water. She loves these dogs with all of her heart. I couldn't recommend her enough. read more

Sharon has been wonderful! I have a highly reactive dog who has made leaps and bounds in progress! She can now do pack walks and interact with dogs without attacking or reacting all because of Sharon. I have a highly demanding job and often message her last minute for walks and she has always responded and taken care of my dog. Recently, I was held overnight at my job and without hesitation, Sharon was able to pick up my dog and take care of her over the course of the next day. I have countless of experiences with her where she's been professional has gone over the top to take care of me and my fur child. She comes highly recommended, and I would trust her without hesitation. Also, she leaves the best reviews for me to read at the end of the day. She takes tons of pictures keeps me updated for how long and how much energy is expanded for my dog. Often times when I am at work, I show them the haiku's or the hilarious debriefs that Sharon leaves for me. It's so refreshing and such a fun way for me to know how my dog's day was. Often I'll share it with my colleagues and we'll all laugh and smile over it. I don't know how she has the time to do everything and be so attentive and caring. read more

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Sharon has been one my dog's very favorite people since he was barely a year old, and he's rarely as excited as when he gets to see her. This is because Sharon has a rare ability to connect with dogs, earn their trust, and intuit their needs. Despite a hectic schedule, Sharon will bend over backwards to be accessible and dependable. There's never been a time when I contacted her to schedule a playdate and had to find someone else due to availability issues. Above all these things, Sharon is an incredibly competent person who brings passion to her work. Your dog(s) will love her and make a fantastic new friend. Don't wait to reach out if you have any dog-walking or dog-sitting needs. 10/10 service. read more

We have a four-month old wheaten terrier puppy, and like many people, turned to Rover as a resource in aiding our training process. Sharon was easily the most compelling option to not only let into our home, but leave lasting imprints on our puppy and ultimately provide him daycare a couple months later. We have had nothing but the most positive experiences with Sharon, and our sweet puppy always leaves his time with her feeling happy, fulfilled, and content from a busy and exciting day. I'm not a dog expert by any means, so I often defer to Sharon on what she thinks is best practice when working with our puppy, and she has not steered us wrong! Highly recommend Sharon and her amazing skills! Our sweet baby has never been better! read more

Sharon worked with my foster dog, Lila, and she did an amazing job. Lila loved her and Sharon had so many great suggestions with her leash behavior and her dog reactivity. I plan to use her in the future with Lila and my other foster dogs. I highly recommend Sharon. read more

Sharon is our most trusted dog-sitter and walker in downtown Chicago. Our dog doesn't trust strangers, and Sharon came in with a smart training plan and was very patient every step of the way. When we've left our dog with her on overnights, we get plenty of updates and pictures that show our pup safe, happy, and playing. Her end-of-walk recap notes are so fun to read and receive. Highly recommend. read more

I take no pleasure leaving a bad review. But, I feel it's important to share our experience so other dog owners can make an informed decision before giving Sharon their business. Sharon was our sitter for 6 months. We found her on Rover and hired her after reading her reviews. The decision of who we invite into our home isn't something we take lightly. And based on Sharon's listed credentials, we felt she would be a reliable & skilled candidate to trust. Our dog is a 1.5 year old rescue husky terrier mix. We've worked diligently with our vet and trainer to develop a plan to help him be the best version of himself. He's made so much progress re: reactivity, settling, and leash-training. However, he's easily excitable (not aggressive, but no recall) and he can be an escape artist. Therefore, we have a few rules in place for his safety: 1) Under no circumstances should he be off-leash outdoors 2) There is a nearby "dog park" (a small mulch patch by the highway) with low fencing we ask to avoid. 3) His leash should always be clipped to his harness, not his collar These are non-negotiable and were stated upfront. We paid for her services with the trust that she would follow and respect this. Had she felt otherwise, we assumed she would not accept these jobs. Her role was to hang out with our dog for 6-8 hours a month so we could go out and have peace of mind. That's it. Unfortunately, our latest (and last) experience with Sharon opened our eyes to her arrogance, unprofessionalism, and recklessness. We asked her to come over last Saturday, with our only request being an evening walk. At 6pm, she texted us a video update with our dog off-leash outdoors in the park we EXPLICITLY told her not to enter. It was empty, but if another dog entered or had something on the other side of the fence triggered his prey drive, he'd be long gone. Now I know what you're thinking - at least she didn't break *all* the rules. Unfortunately, that's not the case. When we got home, we noticed his leash was clipped to his collar - meaning all subsequent bathroom trips weren't on his harness. Not only did she disregard our rules, but she sent video evidence. This was an unnecessary risk and a major liability. It's difficult to imagine a responsible sitter making choices that so directly oppose her clients' wishes. Her actions made me question her skillset and credentials, as her justification for going to the park was that our dog was a "crackhead" on his walk. So eloquent! (we've shown her leash-walking techniques from our trainer to keep him focused, which were clearly ignored). I messaged her the next day to re-establish our boundaries. I wanted to fire her, but we thought we'd at least hear her out. Her response: "I don't feel comfortable watching Dog going forward. I used my expertise and discretion for what Dog needed in the moment. No one got hurt, Dog was thrilled, and his energy expended. I will remove Dog from my schedule. I appreciate you trusting me with Dog, but this no longer feels like trust and feels unreasonably restrictive for him and me. Take care!" That settles that! Nobody got hurt, so it's fine! No apology, no remorse. Evidently, wanting your dog on his leash and not in a specified park is "unreasonable." Her citing her "discretion" might as well be her telling us that "I will override you when I feel like it." That should concern any dog owner. As soon as Sharon thinks of a "better" way to care for your pet, she will do so without your consultation. YOU may want your dog on his leash but if SHE doesn't think that's necessary, it won't be happening. (In the time she spends writing her annoying, bad-poetry-laden "debriefs" at the end of each shift, she could just use that energy to ensure our dog is actually secure before going out. We'd prefer that than read whatever that all was.) For some reason, Sharon felt entitled to play a larger role in our dog's life than we wanted or needed. There are 700+ hours in a month, yet Sharon thinks she knows what's best after only being here for 6-8 of them. She's not at our vet visits, not part of our training sessions, and is not at parks with us in areas we've determined are safe for our dog. Yet she felt the need to override us, make judgments, and challenge our decisions. You just can't trust her to respect boundaries you set. If you're looking for someone who offers unsolicited advice / expects you to hand her blind faith, maybe she's right for you. She shows up on time, provides frequent updates, and is available for last-minute bookings (now I understand why). But for anyone with a reactive dog, a rescue, or someone who simply has guidelines that she might consider "too strict," I'd keep looking. Many sitters think they can handle a rescue until they actually do, and then they realize how much consistency and structure is required. Sharon isn't equipped to uphold the necessary standards and structure. There's an accident waiting to happen here, and I'm relieve read more

Sharon is wonderful! We have a very nervous dog and she cares for him with love and patience. There are very few people I trust completely with him but I know Montgomery will always be safe and happy with Sharon -thank you!! read more

We seriously got so lucky finding Sharon. She's been super reliable, easy to communicate with, and we trust her completely with our pup. You can tell she genuinely cares, and the way our dog greets her every time makes it so obvious how much he loves her. It's such a relief knowing he's in such good hands! read more

Sharon was great in identifying the root cause of my dogs unwanted behaviors and giving personalized, actionable tips to help address the issues. There was a noticeable improvement after just one session and the notes she provided after were top tier. read more

Sharon has been such a blessing to me since getting my puppy/adolescent dog! I adopted a rescue who ended up being way more than I ever could have imagined (reactivity, anxiety and frustration biting). She was fast to respond & literally came to my own rescue! Within one training session, she eased my anxiety and empowered me with skills/tips/games that I could begin implementing immediately. As we continued working together & I began using what she taught me independently, she genuinely gets just as excited as I do when there's progress! If I started to have concerns or noticed something new/odd, she listened & reassured me while giving me pointers and/or quick reminders. She really cares about the dogs she works with and wants the owner and dog both to be and feel successful! Highly recommend. read more