Lady and the Pups

Karen is amazing, I can’t express it enough. She takes care of our dog Lua as if she were her own. She is flexible, easy to work with, easy to get a hold of. We started off having her as a puppy sitter before our dog was vaccinated. Now she walks her, has play dates with other dogs, and spends time playing and hanging out with her. I feel completely at ease leaving Lua knowing that Karen will be there to see her throughout the day. She’s also taken care of Lua for weekends we’ve gone away. Again, easy to arrange. And she gives updates (with pictures!) throughout the day on how Lua is doing (eating habits, anything unusual, and so on). I’ve even gone to Karen for advice on certain things (Lua having a cold, upset stomach, etc) that I’ve been unsure of, which she’s also proven helpful and responsive to. All of this with very reasonable pricing. She is amazing. We’re moving out of the city and I’m genuinely upset to be leaving Karen behind. Couldn’t ask for better care for our dog.

Karen was an amazing to support to us while we were out of town. She came to Chelsea everyday to watch our cat. She sent a picture everyday and made us feel very comfortable with her taking care of our cat El Chapo. She was very knowledgable about all his needs.
We would recommend Karen to everyone — very trusting and responsible.

Karen is quality dog care perfection.
When I returned from a work trip I received the following comment from someone in my building: «who was watching your dog while you were gone? Was that your sister? Your cousin? She loooooves your dog!»
Before I found Karen, I used a dog walker who was more expensive and who walked a second dog at the same time. Karen was more affordable, and only walked my dog when she was working for me. Regarding overnights, Karen house sits, keeping my dog comfortable In her home environment and charges less than it costs to board overnight at the vet (which is undesirable for a multitude of reasons). I was thrilled to pay less for a better service.
Karen is communicative (over phone, text or email… whatever style works best for you), warm and loving, thoughtful and fair. And, I would also venture to guess, a semi-​professional photographer based on the dozens of great photographs she has sent of my dog! Karen listens carefully to instructions, taking notes, and also journals your dog’s activities …watching out for trends or issues.
I met Karen through a mutual friend in the city (they went to summer camp together in high school) and I have consistently had the feeling that paying Karen to watch my house/​my dog is like paying me to do these things… although, honestly she might be better at them than I am. I feel so fortunate that Karen is in this line of work and that we met.
My puppy is particularly shy and skittish. She doesn’t care to get to know other dogs and is equally ambivalent to humans and treats (with the exception of bacon). I know that my dog loves Karen… at one point Karen came over to begin the walk when I was still at home. When I started to hand Maggie May over to Karen, Maggie actually reached out for Karen to hold her… Like a little kid would! My dog, my shy little dog reaching out to someone to hold her!!! This was all I needed to see for Karen to round out the title in my mind of «dog care perfection.»
Karen is a joy for humans to deal with and your dog will love her… I would pay a premium for these things, but to my pleasant surprise she is more affordable than the alternatives (enter the «quality» component of «quality dog care perfection.») I’m not sure on what planet this happens, but I am sure glad she works in my neighborhood.
Karen, we love you! Keep up the good work :)

When I went on vacation for a week recently, Karen took care of my dog that is 70lbs of love and who can be a handful. She did a great job dog sitting and took care of his feline friends as well. She sent daily update photos which was greatly appreciated. She spent time beforehand taking notes on all requirements canine and feline. It is the first time I used a dogsitter and it was exactly what my dog needed. He was calm and happy when I got home and I was really happy that Karen was providing him with the love and companionship that he needs. I can’t recommend Karen enough. She understands and loves animals and has a wonderful energy and demeanor. It provides peace of mind to know that Karen is available.

Karen has been a godsend; a true gem of a dog walker and support on the Upper West Side.
Her commitment to the role — as well as her true passion for dogs (and her love for our dog) — comes through loud and clear. Karen first ensures the dog gets to know her in the right way, an initial interview where she is clear in establishing a relationship with a pet before any work begins. Over the course of her time as our walker, Karen gets to know the dogs more deeply than perhaps even we do — and makes sure to send photos (and videos) daily of walks and playtime. The dog sees her as another member of the family and we’ve completely trusted her as our daily walker and as Sadie’s companion.
We’ve found Karen nothing but clear, communicative, lovely, friendly and brilliant in understanding the nuances of animal (and human!) schedules — she is a font of knowledge of new ideas and trends in pet rearing and ensuring a dog has the best of care in New York City. Moreover, Karen’s rates are phenomenal and spot-​on with our needs and budget.

I was dragged out of my reticence to sign up for Unilocal to give the following GLOWING review for Karen’s Lady and the Pups.
I’ve never used a cat sitter (not so much feeding the cat, but I don’t love the idea of giving a key to a stranger). Being in a bit of a bind over Xmas week 2014, I reached out to Karen via a referral from another pet service. She was able to squeeze us in with VERY short notice. Karen sent pics of my kitty every day, which was a huge relief. She was kind and professional, and my cat actually liked her, which all else aside would be enough to call Karen again. She also came in the morning as requested, which my food-​driven cat has a strong preference for.
I almost don’t want to tap «post» for fear she will start booking up super quickly, but it’s not her fault she’s really good. Couldn’t be more pleased with this service (and despite the holiday booking and last minute scramble, Karen’s prices are INCREDIBLY reasonable). I will absolutely be using Karen again.

I have worked with Karen at Bideawee, a shelter for rescued dogs and cats, and she is great with the animals. She is incredibly comfortable around dogs of all breeds and personalities, and they always really take to her, be it playing in the room or out on a walk. There isn’t a situation I haven’t seen her be able to gain control of. She will ask you the right questions to get to know your dog before leaving it with her as she understands each one is different and has different needs. If I had a dog of my own Ii would have no problem entrusting Karen with it for either a daily walk or to watch it for an extended period of time.

Karen dog sat my Pomeranian, Titus, while I was away on a business trip. Like most dog owners, I was nervous to leave my baby alone, especially for a week. Karen exceed my expectations exponentially. Not only did she take voracious notes on my instruction and complete them to a T, she snuggled and loved him like I would have (actually probably better). She sent me photos of them every day so that i could see what they were up too, even though they were having fun during my meetings. I will be a reference for her any day and will speak to anyone directly should you have any specific questions. Message me and I will give you a phone number to discuss Karen’s services.

I’ve worked with Karen at the Bideawee Animal Shelter, and I mean it when I say she has a sixth sense for dogs and their needs. I am the type of person that gets nervous around dogs that aren’t overly friendly at first or have different behaviors than I am used to, but Karen… she’s always at ease and in control of the situation and always asking the right questions to make sure she’s prepared. I’ve seen her walking dogs and these pups just love her… that never came as easily to me! I still struggle with it, even though I am an animal lover. I would recommend her to work with any of my animals… she has the passion and the common sense to make sure your pet (and any pet for that matter) is in good hands when in her company. Responsible, reliable and kind-​hearted. She’s going to do well in this business!