Pawlosophy

Pawlosophy continues to exceed my expectations. Leaving my cat while I travel always makes me sad, but the pictures and updates reassure me that he is the best of hands.

I completely loved the way they cared for our cats, particularly our cat Dante. Best service received was when one of the co-​owners watched our cats, when another sitter did the litter box sweeping was only ok. What sucked was that they redefined their service borders, without any advance notification — such as an email. I pretty much found out when booking care. Of the three late summer/​fall dates I needed they covered the first stating that the borders were redefined leaving me to try and find a sitter for our wedding weekend, which didn’t happen so I spent the night before my wedding at home so I could care for our cats at night and in the morning bc we only found a caretaker for the night of the reception.
The company never attempted to close our relationship, such as sending keys and such. I had to call and ask for the keys to be returned, which was annoying since they mandated original keys (no copies) on our first meet & greet and they mandated TWO sets. After requesting my keys they asked that I pick them up… It was a crazy week for us with family coming in, wedding plans, graduation and more going on. I was bothered that they had not left all the copies at our home during their last pet sitting gig. I mean, they new the relationship was over, they were the ones that stated that they were not sitting in this area/​zip code; so why not leave the keys on that day.
When I told them I couldn’t pick them up, they offered to mail them. So I accepted since they refused to drop them off. They never arrived and even though I asked for the tracking number, never got one. I then asked if they were carless enough to place them in an envelope to mail them and didn’t get a response. I ship stuff to my sister all the time in Seattle and the tiny box that you shove in the automated machine costs $ 10, provides you with a tracking number and insures your package for up to $ 50. So, I am out both sets of original keys for my home — left only with copies.
What got to me most is that even our last service from them was a cluster — -. They misquoted our rate, so we had to pay them more than the initial quote. Had I known the whole key thing would unravel the way it did, I would have held the money until receiving my property back. Although, now in retrospect I realize that event then I should have said that it wasn’t my problem that they gave the quote incorrectly.
All in all it was a relationship that started strong, but once they were not servicing our area and didn’t need us as customers, their true colors showed. So, if you are happy now — just be prepared to run to them when the relationship ends to get back your property.

I don’t write reviews often, but as a pet owner, I like to read reviews — I want to know who is caring for my 4-​legged children. So, I ‘m writing a review to help the other paw parents. I came across Pawlosophy on EveryBlock. Several people had recommended their services when someone in the neighborhood asked who people were using. I was about to go back to work full-​time and needed a walker for my 2 young, quirky, not that well behaved dogs. I mean… they are the cutest, best dogs ever… Our walker Paul came over and we briefly met, he seems cool and has worked out great. (he may not look forward to his visits here, but he gets the job done — on time).
So, the other part of the story is that… i’m high maintenance. i HATE being high maintenance, but because of our work schedules, I never know what the hell is going to happen from week to week. I add walks late, I cancel walks late, I call when my flight gets cancelled to add walks, I have 2x a day walking… you name it, I do it. In my business we talk about «ideal clients», well, I am NOT one of them. I sooooo appreciate that they put up with my BS and try (and mostly are able) to accommodate us.
The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because I don’t really give 5 stars… but, they are awesome!

Alexis and Lela have established the most professional and reliable team on the Northside of Chicago. We have used their dog walking and house sitting services for the last year and could not be happier. I need walks for random days when I travel for work and we have had overnight care for our 2 dogs when we have taken 1 or 2 week vacations. The walker always comes at the appointed time and leaves a short written note. Having a sitter stay at the house when we have gone on vacation gives me such peace of mind. They send me at least one email a day, sometimes with pictures, reporting on how the dogs are doing. Prices are fair and all scheduling is done online. Could not be easier. Love them!

We hired them to sit for our two cats over Christmas. They came by to meet our cats and get keys – all fine. I left a long note on the fridge going over the same instructions we gave them. I left out exactly the amount of wet cat food that they should have fed them. We still had four cans unopened when we returned. Additionally, they put the used glass bowls the food was in on the counter (not in the sink or dishwasher) in a perfect place for a cat to knock it off and break it (thus leaving the possibly of the cats getting hurt). They never asked if we made it home, and when we went to pick up keys, we were told only on Tuesdays between 5 and 7 pm. No one once asked how their service was or if we were satisfied. But the cats were ok, so three stars?

Recently used PAWLOSOPHY over the Christmas holiday. Excellent customer service and they were able to accommodate my 2 cats at the last minute. My pet sitter was Eugenia. She was great and sent pictures daily, fed, played and kept up the litter boxes while I was away. I disagree with other posters about customer service issues, I have had nothing but positive experiences. Give them a try!

i had never used a dog walker before and was in need of one over Christmas. I was a little nervous about finding a reliable one (my dog has a few ‘quarks’ and gets nervous around new people) and a friend of mine recommended the wonderful team at Pawlosophy. I spoke with Lela, one of the owners, and she was lovely. She broke down different options and quotes for me and arranged a meet and greet with Ryan. Wow. It was great. Copper took to him right away, we chatted for a little bit, exchanged keys and Copper was in Ryan’s hands. I asked for 4 walks over the course of two days. My mind was put completely at ease when I received emails from Ryan after each visit. He gave a little run down of their walk time and tricks my dog showed him. Haha it was so comforting to know my pooch was taken great care of while I was away. I will ABSOLUTELY use these guys again. The service is so kind and generous and they realize how much your pet means to you. I will feel so good going out of town again knowing these guys will be watching my dog. Thank you!!!

We used them for Christmas last year for a whole week. With only maybe 5 day notice for a holiday sitting! For the price you’re paying, especially since we have two cats, it was perfect. Our cats are pretty needy, they love company and Pawlosphy was able to provide that when we were out of town. We constantly got updates and the whole process was quite simple. They relieved a lot of stress for us during the holiday season!

Pawlosophy is fantastic. Easy reservation system (online), and our cat sitter Eugenia loves cats. We get daily updates emailed and pictures. The cats are thrilled and so are we. We had to part ways with our last cat sitter– Pawlosophy does right everything they did wrong. Highly recommend.

If you love your animals, you should trust in Pawlosophy to be their sitting/​walking service! Pawlosophy is a business that runs like a machine in that they make sure there are primary and secondary sitters/​walkers set up to handle what you need, but they also care and have a heart when it comes to making sure your animals are cared for — a hard combination to find. I travel a lot and there are delays and other issues that come up. Pawlosophy is flexible and caring and work with you no matter the circumstance. I am SO thankful I found this FABULOUS service!

3 stars for their awesome website. I loved the detailed questionnaire and ability to book and pay online. All of which I thought would make for a perfect pet sitting set up.
Unfortunately, things didn’t play out that way in real life. The pet sitter showed up when she wasn’t scheduled. She woke me up early in the morning only to realize, after I reminded her, that she was scheduled for the evening.
Also, part of my instructions on their online form AND on a printout I left in my apartment explicitly stated not to put my cat’s wet food in the fridge because she won’t eat it that way. When I returned home from my trip, the wet food was in the fridge.
Lastly, the sitter would email me a brief write up after each visit and after a couple days my cat wasn’t even coming out of her hiding spot. Clearly, she didn’t feel safe or comfortable with the sitter.
I really didn’t want to leave a less than stellar review, but as a pet owner who was once searching for a sitter, I would have appreciated this type of review to help me make the best choice for my cat. Fortunately I have since found another service that both my cat and I love.

I scheduled an impromptu trip out of town and went back and forth about whether to get a sitter for my kitten. After talking with seasoned cat owners, I decided to book a sitter.
Filling out all the paperwork was easy. I got (what I thought) a working set of keys and a date was scheduled for the sitter, Jeff, to meet my baby girl. The meeting went VERY well and I felt like I was leaving my baby in great hands.
I got to my destination and got a voicemail from my sitter letting me know that my keys would only work for my deadbolt. Uh oh. Luckily my landlord got in touch with the sitter (albeit two hours later =/​) and my baby girl got her visits without a hitch.
I loved all the updates. I even got a picture once.
Next time I go out out of town I’m definitely going to use Pawlosophy. I hope to get Jeff again. He was so great! He even closed the windows to my apartment so my baby girl wouldn’t get cold.
I used a Unilocal deal to save but even without it I feel like the services are a a good deal. I liked being able to schedule one or two visits for each day.

Pawlosophy is a great pet service. Most important, they worked with us when the sitters were having difficultly medicating one of our two cats (she’s VERY shy). Through some trial and error, we quickly found a sitter who has a magic touch with our shy cat, and Pawlosophy always makes sure we get that sitter, with the exception of when he is on vacation. (That sitter’s name is Ryan, by the way. He is fantastic, and always keeps an eye on things.) We have one dog and two cats. All are in good hands with Pawlosophy. Alexis runs the business. She is friendly and efficient and accommodating. I strongly recommend the service.

Let me be the first to give these guys a not so stellar review.
A couple things have happened that have made me decide not to use their services again. We used Pawlosophy twice for overnight care for our elderly pug and other pets. They are supposed to have a safeguard in place that they won’t stop caring for your pets until they hear from you that you’ve arrived safely home from your trip. It’s a great policy, except the one time I needed it, they didn’t follow it. Out of stress or forgetfulness or who knows what I accidentally told them when I booked our sitter that we would be returning on Sunday when it was really Monday. As a result, my poor old puggy was alone and scared an entire night by himself. So really dumb mistake on my part, total lack of follow through on theirs.
Since then, I’ve decided to give them another chance because I figured it couldn’t happen again and both the sitters we had were quite nice and seemed to have done a good job, despite the day mix up fiasco. I called the office to get a sitter for an upcoming trip and supposedly the ones we had used before were already booked, so they would find us another. After a few weeks and multiple attempts at contact, Pawlosophy seem to have made no attempt to get us a replacement sitter. And honestly, whoever answers the phone at the main office is really unpleasant, presumptuous and condescending. Having to deal with her totally uncalled for attitude when I called last time was the icing on the cake. Needless to say we’re finding a new pet sitting service.

Amazing service. Friendliest and the most responsible pet sitters one can imagine. Our cat started a new medicine a week before our trip and, thanks to Jeff and Andraya, he was rushed into ER just in time to take care of unexpected adverse effect the medication caused while we were away. Alexis and hear team are very accommodating and flexible.

I cannot rave enough about Pawlosophy!
Their service and genuine interest in the dog and dog owner is unmatched. Alex knew we were first time dog owners. She was patient and gave us great information to help ease us into dog ownership. She was truly invested in our happiness. Plus they are flexible and accommodating with schedules. I can’t imagine a better option!

WOW! Pawlosophy is a life-​saver! I can’t say enough great things about this company and their staff of dedicated, caring, compassionate walkers!
I first met Pawlosophy when I urgently needed a dog-​walking service for our dog. Pawlosophy walked other dogs in our building and they came highly recommended. The initial meeting was thorough and I felt confident that I was leaving my dog in knowledgeable hands.
We’ve since been a client now for more than 2 years. My husband and I both have work schedules that vary weekly, if not day to day, so having a company that understands our needs to schedule sometimes at the last minute, is comforting. Alexis has always been flexible with our scheduling needs and that has been a huge life-​saver for us.
I trust this company so much that we went to out of the country for 2 weeks and left our dog at home with multiple dog walks & feeding scheduled throughout the day. We got daily email updates which was a comfort knowing our dog was so well cared for when we were not home.
I’ve never seen our dog more happy than when one of the amazing staff comes to take her out for a walk. They genuinely seem to love our dog and that care is exceptional! Don’t go anywhere else — Pawlosophy is the best!!!

I have been so lucky to have my dog taken care of with Pawlosophy. They come and walk him weekly plus stay overnight when I travel. He is always loved and pampered under their care and I can call on them to come out at a moments notice.

I started looking for a cat sitter after my male kitty had a medical emergency that opened my eyes to the danger of leaving my cats without a sitter while I’m away. When I called Pawlosophy, Alex was very knowledgeable about cats and made me feel confident that I was making the right choice.
Right before my first scheduled trip away, my male kitty had another health scare and I chose not to leave. Pawlosophy emailed to check in and see how he was doing which showed me that they really care about their clients.
Mr. Kitty rebounded and although he requires medication twice a day, is doing much better now. I have had Pawlosophy cat sit a number of times and always feel confident that my cats are getting the best care possible.
I love the email updates! Once they had my cats paint me a picture on their iPad and emailed it to me. Since my cats are my kids, I posted it on Facebook like any proud momma would!
Thanks Pawlosophy, keep up the great work!

I’ve used Pawlosophy’s cat sitting services a few times per year for the past couple of years, and they’ve been great — I never worried about my cats when Pawlosphy sitters were looking after them. My cats always seemed happy when I got home, plus the litter box was cleaned, the water bowls were filled, the houseplants got watered, my mail got collected. .. it’s a full-​service operation. I loved the daily updates (sometimes with photos!) while I was gone. They were especially accommodating when I had to go out of town on short notice, and when one of my cats developed diabetes, they made a special visit just to learn about his new medication and feeding routines. I felt very comfortable having Pawlosophy sitters look after my pets.
I moved out of state a couple of months ago, and I wish I could have brought Pawlosophy with me! I would definitely recommend them to anyone who is looking for high-​quality pet sitting. You might find a cheaper service, but you definitely won’t find a better one — it’s worth it to feel confident that your pets will be well cared for when you’re away.