NINA QUINLEY

Elissa is fantastic! I am a veterinarian and a self-proclaimed ‘crazy cat mom’ and I am very particular about who I trust to watch my cats when I am out of town. Because I have also worked with Elissa professionally in a veterinary hospital, I know that her animal handling skills are top notch and that she is very knowledgeable about animal health care. I trust her to watch my kitties very carefully, administer their medications as needed, and let me know right away if something is not right. She is very detail oriented and makes sure that she performs all the care duties exactly as requested. I also appreciate that she is truly caring and wants to make sure that she spends time interacting with them so they don’t go too stir-crazy while we are gone. And I especially love the photo updates – they help put my mind at ease!

I hired Elissa in 2018 for dog sitting services and overnight stay at my place in Davis. We have a rather fearful special needs dog, an American Staffordshire Terrier mix (pitbull type dog). While our dog Bo is very loving, he is fearful of new people coming in the house when we are not around. When we introduced him to petsitters in the past, Bo seemed ok but once we left for our trip, Bo has always been fearful about having anyone coming in the house. Bo can also be reactive to dogs, especially off-leash dogs. Therefore, we were looking for a petsitter that was, not only experienced in caring for fearful dogs, but also able to handle Bo’s strength in case that a dog off-leash would be encountered on walks.  
 
I have to add that I have been working as a professional dog walker and petsitter for many years for an award-winning petsitting business in the Sacramento area so I am really picky who can care for my dog! From my first encounter with Elissa, I felt incredibly confident in her skills and this theme continued throughout all of the time she has cared for Bo. I knew Bo was in very good hands and we did not have to worry to leave for our vacation. 
 
From Elissa’ first petsitting visits with Bo, I realized how much she really knew about dog behavior as she decided to wait for Bo to approach her and Elissa gave Bo all the time and patience that he needed to feel comfortable around her while she took care of him. Elissa made sure to send us daily updates after her overnight visits with Bo at our place. She also made sure to send pictures of their time together. 
 
I have greatly appreciated Elissa’s professionalism and patience with our fearful dog. Elissa is amazing, caring, honest, hard-working and I just wished we lived closer!  
 
I feel confident that you will find her highly skilled in caring for your pets and I would not hesitate to recommend Elissa’s petsitting and dog walking service. Elissa is an outstanding pet sitter and dog walker!