It has taken me about a month to be able to write this review so that I can try to be as objective as possible, and to dissipate the anger I felt upon my return home. The good news is -- my dog was still alive when we returned from a cruise. Stephan provided in-home care in our home the greater Palm Springs area while we were away. Because our dog appeared to be okay, we give 2 stars ("it could have been better") instead of 1 ("Not good"). (Frankly, I'm being generous). That's the good news. The bad news is: * Our home was pristine when we left. It was dirty when we returned home. Filthy, really. Off-white rug was strewn with lawn debris and a visible track of foot traffic and dirt appeared where it had never been before between the sofa and the back door. The kitchen, where cooking had occurred, had not been wiped up, dishes in the sink. The sofa was disheveled and 'lived-in' with an odor that required steam cleaning to remove. Our ordinarily pristine home was in general disarray in every room, and the house emitted a mysterious, but pungent smell. There appeared to have been no attempt whatsoever to clean up his own mess or to straighten the house in anticipation of our return. * We came home a couple of hours earlier than expected to find not only a home we had to re-clean in order to resume normal life, but multiple windows and doors open and the A/C on (presumably to air out the mysterious stench). * The cost for this service, requiring up-front payment, was nearly double what others charge in the area, but we (perhaps stupidly) believed the many 5-star ratings. We did not receive 5-star service. * The pre-prepared and measured food for our dog's daily meals was only partially consumed. * Our housekeeper came by at her scheduled time (by accident, forgetting we had cancelled her visit during our trip), but was not able to enter since no one answered the door, despite the petsitter telling us that he 'never left the house' or our dog alone. * Our dog, who is normally very friendly and approachable, appeared skittish in photographs during our trip -- tail down, ears back, avoiding rather than approaching and playful. I noted it during one text exchange with the petsitter and was told that 'this dog is NOT scared.' I beg to differ. I know my dog. * The patio plants, which we agreed would be watered daily (desert), were bone dry and wilted when we arrived, requiring immediate attention, although the hose was stretched across the lawn, presumably from some earlier use while we were gone. * In addition, the petsitter had many demands for his own comfort and convenience, which were 100% provided. The same courtesy was not returned to us, even though we discussed very clear expectations for both our dog and our home prior to our departure. * Our planned departure for a cruise was delayed for about an hour because the petsitter locked himself out of his car in the street, requiring a plan to avoid having his car towed. We allowed him to park in our garage vs. the guest parking lot. Rather than making our departure and trip less stressful, we found ourselves being more stressed because of the petsitter's own challenges, both before and during the trip and especially after. We had several conversations and a couple of site visits prior to the trip to introduce Stephan to our dog and to clarify the assignment(s). I wrote a detailed list of Q&A to guide any questions that might have arisen, including providing multiple vets and emergency contacts. I had reservations about some of my observations pre-departure, but we had already paid a non-refundable deposit of $500 and we were out of time to arrange anyone else. At a cost of $1500 per week for housesitting/pet sitting, I expected far better and more and got substantially worse and less than what we had discussed and reasonably expected. I'm just glad our dog was generally okay. Hence, 2 stars instead of 1. I wish I could report a 5-star experience and recommend this company and sitter to others. Unfortunately, I cannot. read more

Lakshme took excellent care of our two dogs. you can tell right away that she loves dogs. we would definitely use her again.

Montgomery Pet Sitters is great company! I have used both of their services - walking and boarding. The care and compassion they have shown to my dog, Buddy, is heart warming. As a pet owner, we are finicky people. However, Stephan has gone about and beyond in taking care of my "baby" I highly recommend MoCo Pet Sitters of Gaithersburg. They are truly a blessing in my hectic life!! AK read more

Montgomery Pet Sitters has provided a consistently reliable team of individuals to take care of our dogs in our home. We have been customers of Stephan's for over 10 years and through this relationship, we consider him a friend trusting him and his team with our dogs and our home. When we leave our pets with MPS, they ask thoughtful questions ensuring that the dogs' needs are met - food, meds, daily exercise routines, special needs etc. Recently, upon our during our latest time away, David, one of Stephan's team, sent us daily updates - including photos - and upon return, we were greeted with very happy dogs (Chaos and Bowie), watered plants, and a neat and tidy house including our mail and newspapers, packages, etc. brought inside and left in an orderly fashion. We appreciate his attention to detail and would welcome him to care for the dogs again. With MPS' recent expansion in other locations, service has not declined. Kris' management style has made the transition seamless and continues to provide top-notch care of Chaos and Bowie. I'd recommend MPS to anyone in need of dog sitting/dog walking services. N.W. read more

Montgomery Pet Sitters - Stephan's clients.... - Dog Walkers Near Me

Stephan and Montgomery Pet Sitters are wonderful. They are very nice people who obviously love what they do and care very much for their clients (human or animal). I have used their cage-less boarding 3 times now and am never concerned about Max's safety. They take time to introduce all dogs. If the need arises they diligently separate dogs. I am a huge animal lover and would never leave my dog anywhere that left me feeling uneasy. They are in the process of moving to a new and bigger place and I look forward to having Max stay there. --Michelle (and Max ) read more

Montgomery Pet Sitters - Their service is unbeatable, but, additionally, Montgomery Pet Sitters managed to take the best photo ever of Max. - Dog Walkers Near Me

Finally a reliable pet sitter for my 4 cats! Nancy is wonderful and clean!! I didn't have to come home to litter and cat food everywhere. She was so good at coaxing my shy cats out to eat and sent me updates almost daily. Montgomery Pet Sitters are very reasonably priced and the owner Kris is wonderful. Did a very thorough meet and greet before I signed up for services. Will definitely use them as my go to pet sitter and recommend them to my friends and family. read more

Wonderful and caring attention given to your pet every time! Now I can travel at easy and not worry knowing my Charisma is very well taken care of! Best pet care ever! read more

MontgomeryPet Sitters is a reliable and trustworthy organization. I needed someone to stay at my house to watch my dog for a long weekend . The owner Kris and one of the employees Ann, came for a house visit and to meet my dog several weeks before my trip. Immediately I knew I was in good hands. There calm demeanor and experience regarding dealing with pets set the tone. It is stressful leaving a pet with strangers as well as having that person in your home for an extended time. That stress dissipated as soon as I met Kris and Ann. There was communication and pictures of my dog while I was on vacation. The house was neat and clean when I got home. Kris even contacted me to make sure we were home and not delayed from our trip. Class act organization. I will continue to use this organization for my pet. Mary Flinchum read more

Stephan and Mary have been wonderful with our puppies when we board them at their place. They make it very easy to drop the puppies off and pick them up at a much later time than would normally be aloud (and accommodate us when the traffic is horrible and we have to pick them up the next day.) The puppies are always excited when we walk up the stairs to their place and come back exhausted (and have been known to sleep for days on end which is a relief after you just come back from a long trip) and they always seem to have taken a ton of walks with their time with them. (Who has ever heard of a dog coming back from boarding looking more toned!?) Sometimes Squishy requires medicine and it is always easy to change our feeding/medication requests and know that there is much more one on two attention that she will not miss a dosage. Stephan and Mary are also great for going above and beyond on such things as when my husband dropped off the puppies and forgot to take their dog food. Mary stopped by and picked it up so we did not have to run out again. Very highly recommended! read more

Stephan and Cammeron have been taking care of my rescue Bradley since I picked him up in August. They have been great with helping him adjust to his new life and grow into a wonderful new family member. They are 1000% reliable and trustworthy... I have had pet sitter for over 20 years and these guys are at the top of their profession. read more

I used their in-home cat visiting service for several years back when I was traveling out of town a lot. I always received daily or near-daily updates on my cat, Smokey. Service was well worth the money ... not only for the peace of mind it bought me, but for keeping the cat happy while I was gone. And I just checked their site ... rates are the same as they were 3 years ago. How many businesses can you say that about? read more

This is a long review but as a veterinarian I ask you to take your time to read about my experience with Montgomery Pet Sitters. My partner and me are both veterinarians. We have erratic schedules and one of us is often home but there may be anywhere from 2 or 3 days in a month up to 10-12 that neither of us is home. Fortunately we have a big yard and so our requirement is for our dogs to be let out for 10 minutes to stretch their legs and get some fresh air and a bathroom break. We began using Montgomery Pet Sitter about 1 and 1/2 years ago. They were accommodating of our erratic schedule and asked that we give them advance notice of dates on a month by month basis. Carly (one of the partners at the time) was our carer and she was great - she was very reliable and never let us down once. After about 6 months, Carly parted ways with the company. No explanation was given and there was no meet and greet with her replacement. The very month she left, a visit was missed. Given our jobs as veterinarians we often work 12 hour days and sometimes even longer before we are home - and so a missed visit results in a huge problem for our dogs. We treat our dogs as our children so it was also very upsetting for us when this occurred. We were informed by Stephan that there was some reorganization since Carly left and it would not occur again.  This turned out to be just the beginning of a string of issues. These included: - Missed visits with no explanation or apology. - Turning up at the house but not letting the dogs out because the gardeners were in the yard mowing the lawn. - Turning up at the house and not letting the dogs out because one of our cars was still in the driveway. We were out of state and I had sent an email reminder that morning prior to our flight to confirm the visit.  As our house sitter would not be home until the evening, we were frantically trying to contact Montgomery Pet Sitters to go back to our home to let the dogs out.  Ultimately they did go back but I was charged twice for that day even though they only did their job (letting the dogs out) once. - New dog walkers entering our home without any notice or the opportunity for a meet and greet (for us or our dogs). - House left unlocked. - On one occasion the burglar alarm was set off and they just left without informing us. - One time the kitchen sink water was left running all afternoon until we got home. Of all of these "issues" the biggest concern to us was the missed visits. We never received any notice that they would not or had not cared for our dogs. We would only find out about it on returning home. I tried to work with them to find a way to prevent this from happening. Their solution was for us to email them on the day - every day - to remind them that they were due to turn up that day (apparently sending a list of required dates at the beginning of each month, as per our initial agreement, was not adequate). I tried to remind them to turn up on the days we needed them as often as I could, but working in an emergency veterinary hospital there were times this was just not feasible. It was also difficult when we were out of the country (we have a friend who house sits when we are away). And so it quickly became "my fault" that they didn't turn up, even though they had been sent a list of required dates - and paid for those visits - each month in advance! This week i received an email from Stephan to inform me that the visit scheduled for that day would be their last visit - they would be leaving the keys on the kitchen counter.  The explanation was that they "could not accommodate sharing dog-care duties with other house sitters". This was in response to me telling them we will be away for a few days and our usual friend will house-sitting while we are gone. How ridiculous! What are the options? We are forced to have them house sit? Or put the dogs in kennels? Or not go away? I emailed Stephan asking for further explanation - this is not the first time our friend has looked after our house - there has been no reply.  This email came without any notice, and leaves us without anybody to care for our dogs in the coming days. As a veterinarian and a professional, I cannot recommend Montgomery Pet Sitters to care for your pets. They have been repeatedly unreliable in providing care with no sense of responsibility for the job they do and absolutely no remorse for making our dogs suffer. They have been completely unprofessional to give zero notice before terminating care for our dogs. Ultimately I am glad to be rid of them. As I write this I feel bad that I gave them so many chances and exposed our dogs to such poor care. Thankfully there are plenty of others out there who provide similar (hopefully better) services. Please take our experience into consideration prior to hiring Montgomery Pet Sitters to care for your beloved pets. read more

Montgomery Pet Sitters took great care of our cat while we were gone. Very friendly and professional. I especially enjoyed the text updates while we were gone. Thanks! read more

I called Montgomery Pet Sitters to schedule a meet and greet as I was looking into new pet sitters. I called back two and a half hours prior to the scheduled meeting to let them know that a family friend pulled through and I would no longer need their service so the meet and greet wasn't necessary at this time. The person on the phone literally told me to "do them a favor and never call back." I have never been so disgusted and am literally in shock as I write this review. Needless to say I will heed their advice and will not be using them. read more

They did a great job caring for our pets. Couldn't have been happier. 5 stars.

We had used Montgomery Pet Sitters for overnights with their sitter Mary for 2 years. We were extremely happy and worked directly with her. When Mary departed the company, there was no follow-up by the business owner on her future confirmed work. When I emailed to reconfirm I received only a short email stating Mary and departed and they could offer boarding. Unfortunately, our dog doesn't do well at boarding. When I inquired about why I wasn't notified about Mary, they blamed the number of customers they had, saying it would be too challenging to email everyone and inform them. I'm not sure what sort of business they want to run, but that is a terrible excuse. As for Boarding, I can't speak to their new location, but when we did put our dog at their previous location he came back smelling of cigarettes and was filthy. The yard was basically mud. read more

Jonathan takes good care of our cats when we are away. The owner Stephan is very responsive to email.

Just wanted to write a quick review for our dog sitter Jonathan. He has been with us for a few months now and has been doing a good job. He sends us updates on how his visit was, including pictures of our dogs. He is reliable and we haven't had any problems with him. I would recommend him as a pet sitter. Happy holidays read more

Stephan and Mary are wonderful, reliable pet sitters. They have been pet sitting for our 2 dogs for almost a year now. They walk them daily and our "boys" seem to really enjoy their love and attention. They always come through when I need an extra walk or two. read more

A neighbor of ours recommended Stephan's services to us. We are very glad that she did and extremely glad that Stephan could board our puppy Cocoa while we were on vacation. Being able to board a puppy in a safe place without having to worry about her well being while you are on vacation, is a luxury and Stephan and Montgomery Pet Sitters allowed us to have our vacation without having to worry. Since the boarding is in a home atmosphere and usually there are other dogs there as well, Cocoa benefitted from being around older dogs. When we saw the pictures that Stephan sent us everyday we were worried that Cocoa might get used to the new lifestyle and not want to come back with us! In short we would recommend Stephan's services highly and would send our friends there if any of them asked for a recommendation on dog boarding services. read more

I have been using Stephan and his crew for 4 years now. They are the only people I would trust to take care of my two dogs while we are away. The dogs love Stephan, and enjoy staying at his house for weekends, and week long trips. They are happy to see us upon our return, but not overly 'please get me out of here' type of happy. They love Stephan, and he obviously loves them. Stephan regularly sends us photo updates while we are away, and that really is going above and beyond. He is all-inclusive, fairly priced, and loving of each animal he has. I absolutely can't recommend him enough. read more

Montgomery Pet Sitters is fabulous! We used them for in-home care while we were away and daily dog walking when we returned. Our English bulldog has separation anxiety. They took great care of her - texting us fun pictures and giving her lots of love. read more

I am a big fan of Montgomery Pet Sitters. David is great w my two dogs and is very caring and reliable. He takes his job seriously and clearly loves animals. My German Shepard and pit bull mix can't wait to get out of the house and go on a walk with him every day. David is very conscientious and is simply wonderful and gives me great peace of mind that my dogs are well cared for each day. read more

Stephan and MoCo pets is as good as it gets. I have a 7 yr old dachshund Junior Brown that he takes care of. We are so lucky to have stumbled upon Stephan walking some dogs one day and now I don't want to move anywhere because he lives close by. My dog is my heart and soul and having Stephan to help me take care of him is such a blessing. My dog has a high quality of life I believe now, and I never have to worry about him when I'm gone for long periods of time because Stephan is always there to help me and Junior! This also improves my quality of life. Having moved to the area less than 2 yrs ago I have to say Stephan and MoCo pets are two of my favorite things. Stephan as a person of very high character and his love for animals is obvious at first sight. Because of MoCo pets I am finally starting to feel at home :) read more

My Dog's home away from home. So, yelp doesn't like that I wrote a one sentence review, I think it says it all in that one sentence. Yelp, I simply don't have time for this, but I do recommend Montgomery Pet sitters. read more

My cat Topaz loves Montgomery Pet Sitters, especially Nikki, who takes very good care of him. She even sends me pictures of him. Every time we come back from a trip he is a relaxed and happy kitty. MPS is reliable, always confirming visits ahead of time. They are also flexible. I have had to reschedule visits abruptly but still got quality care. Susan R, Gaithersburg, MD read more