Chose this company to watch our cat while we were on a trip last month. Staff were attentive,…read moretimely, and sent frequent updates while we were away. Pricing was affordable and fair for the work involved. Got some extremely kind comments from every staff member that showed their genuine care for and experience with animals. Would recommend to anyone in the area.

I have been using Alexandria Pet Care for years to care for my fur babies when I'm out of town…read more Their care team is very responsive, and they always provide details/pics of my pets to put my mind at ease. Their client app is user friendly and allows me to change pet care information effortlessly. I would recommend them in a heartbeat. Thank you, APC for all that you do!

Bow Wow Meow (BWM) has been my go to for over 8 years. Ellen, the owner, is wonderful and has…read morebecome part of our family. In fact when my 18 year old cat, Franklin, was diagnosed with cancer, Ellen was my first call. She checked on us both throughout his final months and sent me a wonderful photo book of Franklin - pictures she had taken of Franklin over the years - after our final goodbye. The kindness didn't end there... she would check on me months after and is now supporting me as a prepare to welcome a puppy into the family. Im looking forward to Auntie Ellen meeting the new addition and know when I'm traveling she will care for my boys with the same love and attention I give them. Look no further, BWM is exactly what you're looking for!

I needed a cat sitter for my high-energy, outgoing, and human attention-craving Sphynx kitty. She…read moreis only 9 months old and had never spent a night alone, let alone an entire week. I was so worried about her, but Ellen sent me a picture and e-mail every day while I was overseas to alleviate my fears and allow me to enjoy my vacation. She is the owner of the business, with several helpers - but took care of our cat personally. She came over twice a day (for an hour total) to feed, cuddle, and play with our cat, as well as take care of the litter every day and take in the mail/newspapers. Ellen also operates her business out of her home, which is only 2 blocks from mine. In looking for a sitter, I knew I wanted someone local who could easily stop by, who owned cats, and who had a business that was big enough to be trusted (she's insured and bonded). But I also wanted a business small enough so that it could provide old-fashioned customer service and special attention to my pet. And that's exactly what I got - from the consultation that ended up lasting almost an hour (because we just kept chatting while getting to know each other), to dropping copies of our keys at her house "just whenever," to her visiting us a week after we returned to visit our cat and pick up the check. All while responding to every email very promptly. It's no surprise that she won Alexandria Times' reader's choice for best pet sitter/walker. In the end, Ellen fell in love with our cat, and said she took lots of pictures and even told our cat that she secretly liked her better than her own cat, lol =). She is a very trustworthy, sweet lady, and I am so glad to have found her. She gives me the peace of mind to be able to take vacations with a needy animal at home. Plus, it was only $20 for a half-hour visit ($30 for a weekend visit), but she took $5 off on weekends because it was twice a day. According to the reviews of the other (too big) company I chose as a backup in Del Ray, the cost could have likely come to $1000 a week instead of about $300. We will be requesting her services again for a week in June. The best part? Ellen's eyes brightened up when we told her. She misses our cat. Aww. =)

Loyalty Pet Care isn't just great. They go way past the extra mile…read more We have been clients of Loyalty for many years. We found Loyalty through a friend, and decided to give them a try. I really liked them, because I never worried that our cats were "forgotten". Loyalty sends a picture and an email/text on every visit, so we always know what is happening. And they fill out a log book, that stays with us, with details on each visit. And then - because being good just isn't good enough - they went the extra 10 miles. When one of our cats got sick, Loyalty was there to help us through the very difficult time. They helped even when our cat would act out and get angry (because a sick cat is an unhappy cat, all the time). They didn't flinch when realizing they had a sick cat - they just dealt with it, and said "it's just part of the job". They even went so far as to accompany me to a vet visit, because it was taking two people to keep our poor cat calm. And that is how you set the bar. Now, several years later, I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else. Loyalty has done a great job of every visit - and even came to our rescue when we were stuck after a cancelled flight, and couldn't get home. We know we can count on them. If you are looking for organized, local, and going above and beyond the call, stop right here. You found it.

I used Loyalty Pet Care for 4 months during my last semester of grad school. Madison, Kat, and…read moreChrissy were our walkers and they were all great. I was only home when they came a handful of times, but each time I saw them they were very professional and clearly loved my dog (and he loved them!). They also were hugely helpful when he was diagnosed with cancer and later needed surgery- knowing they were able to see him and give meds while he recovered gave me such peace of mind. I spoke with Terry to get set up and she is a wonderful business owner who is dedicated to her employees and delivering great care to clients. If they ever noticed something was off during a visit, like if my dog had seemed sick or had gotten into something, they got in touch with me in real time to let me know, in addition to the handwritten notes that they logged after each walk for us to read when we got home. We were signed up for a monthly rate for consistent daily walks that I was happy with and it was relatively easy to note any schedule changes, you just have to know kinda far in advance. My only feedback would be that it would be great if they had a messaging system that allowed for real time walk messages with the possibility of sharing photos as well (a platform like Time To Pet, that I know some other services use), but they were so well organized and genuine that I never doubted that my walker was coming or that they were coming for the amount of time we were scheduled for. It would also be nice if it was possible to do group walks to get some socialization in, but they only do solo walks.

Mr. Myron is such a sweetheart - he boards the dogs in his own home in Old Town. He is extremely…read morepatient (even with my gazillion questions and very neurotic self), very gentle with the dogs, and is quite flexible with the pick-up and the drop-off dates - he works with you to see which time would be best, and his rates are definitely comparable, if not competitive, with other dog sitters in the NoVA area. I honestly was comfortable and was not worried when I dropped my pup off for a few days, and Myron always responded to my emails to let me know how she was doing. I highly highly highly recommend him, as he is really good as it gets. They also offer dogwalking services, too. +ask for Mr. Myron +farm trip during the summer

I've been looking for a dogwalker in Alexandria, and really struggled to find one. Dogwalkers tend…read morenot to have personal websites, so you have to find them word of mouth. That's how I found Myron and Pawsitive Pets. Myron was helpful from the moment I called him. He really wanted to know my needs and my dog's needs. He then offered a variety of options that could work with my lifestyle. Even though, I initially was looking for someone to walk my dog, we figured out that our best option was for him to look after my pup at his house for 3-4 hours a day. Myron's got a big house, and a huge backyard filled with lots of doggie toys, and 8 foot tall cement walls, so you never have to worry about your dog escaping! I'm really happy with the service, and now my dog gets to socialize with lots of other dogs, gets trips to the dog park, and lots of outdoor exercise time! This is exactly what he needed! Dog walks = $15 Half-Day Pupsitting = $20 Full Day Pupsitting = $30

Golie is the best!…read more My husband and I recently moved to the area. Having no trusted friends or relatives nearby, we were a little apprehensive about leaving our senior cat, Raven, with a pet sitter. However, once I met Golie, I knew that Raven was in great hands and my worry was gone. Golie far surpassed our expectations - and that is saying a lot! My husband and I are difficult to impress when it comes to our cat because we worry about her so much. Golie came prepared to our consultation meeting with all the right questions to ask and took notes the entire time. I had prepared a list of things to tell her, but didn't even need the list because she knew exactly what to ask! I knew that Raven would be in great hands. Thank you, Golie!

I met Golie while she was walking a dog in my former neighborhood. Based on the 10 minutes I spent…read morewith her I knew that she would be my dog sitter. I only had to sell my condo, find a house with a yard & adopt two dogs from the Humane Society. In the meantime, I ran into the owner of the dog she was walking & he gave her glowing reviews & her contact info. After I moved, I adopted my dogs & was ready to go on my pre--arranged vacation. I contacted Golie who did a home visit to meet my two pooches. Her professionalism & motivation was evident from the start. When I explained that Chico had to take several meds for his heart, she didn't flinch. I told her that Jesse had peed all over the doctors office when he was supposed to be providing moral support for Chico. She laughed & said "there are different forms of moral support." She is able to turn every instance into a positive even when I make fun of my dogs. They immediately loved her & I felt so confident to leave them in her very capable hands. I went overseas & Golie sent daily updates with pictures of their progress. They were hooked on the attention, love & care that she provided. When I returned she stopped by my house to pick up something & they sat at her feet while I stood on the opposite side of the kitchen. When I remarked on how attached they were next to her, she responded that she was there temporarily. She has taken care of very special needs pets without hesitation. When she tells me what she has to do with some I am astonished. She says "it's my job." Without hesitation I would recommend Golie to anyone who needs a dog sitter. Woof--woof

Wonderful Shelter with extremely caring veterinarians, onsite staff and volunteers! The animals…read moreare always treated with tender loving care. If there's the slightest indication of a health issue, the lil' guys are treated immediately. There is no better Shelter in northern Va.

My husband and I saw a dog we were interested in meeting and possibly adopting so we reached out…read morethrough Instagram to get more details. We got a quick response, which was nice. They let us know that based on the dog's profile, they recommended that we do a meet and greet with any family dogs we already have at home. So we get ready, load up our pup, and go to the center. When we walked in, we felt like the vibes were pretty off immediately. The front desk staff seemed to be pretty unfriendly, barely addressed us, and barely made eye contact with us. But we moved on and I tried giving them some grace... We then told them which dog we were interested in meeting and they let us go back to the kennel for a first glance. We came back out and when we asked for a meet and greet, the one worker seemed super hesitant in even allowing that. Lots of "ummm, yea, I guess you can" vibes. My mother-in-law waited in the lobby with our pup and they led my husband and I to their yard for a visit which went well and I asked if I could switch out with my mother-in-law and were told that it'd be best not to have the dog meet too many people in one instance since it has a "stranger danger" personality. What if the people after us wanted to meet him, would they have turned them down because it was "too many people"??? We then asked to have our pup meet since our meeting went well and were met with more hesitation. We let the staff know that we also have kids at home and they recommended that we come back with them so the adoptable pup could meet everyone at once instead of letting our dog meet in that moment.... we thought that was odd since we were already there and prepared. My husband was already over it and left and I went back in to ask if the dog we were interested in could be adopted that day or before we were able to come back. They let us know that they couldn't guarentee he'd still be there. Never once did they really walk us through the process or even offered that we could essentially put the dog on "hold" until I kept asking more questions. They finally directly us to a QR code that went to an interest form. I filled out the whole thing and then they were like, "oh, BTW, its a nonrefundable $50 fee/donation to put an animal hold on". So... fine.... because we really wanted to make sure he was still there when we came back. Fast forward to the next day, we bring our kids and our dog back in. They then tell us they they're going to have our dog meet their dog 1st and if that goes well, we can introduced the kids. What the actual crap since we already had our dog in the day before! So the meet and greet with the pups didn't go the best which isn't anyone's fault. We understand and recognize that is out of everyone's control and don't fault the staff for that interaction. One of the other workers who wasn't there the first day tried helping and made some suggestions to have us adopt and older dog but at that point we were ready to go. We were so frustrated with the entire process. They wasted our time, weren't upfront about the fee/donation, and the staff either didn't understand the process themselves OR they really didn't want it to actually work out with us from the moment we walked in there. We've adopted from Wolftrap Animal Rescue twice and had wonderful interactions. We also visited the Lorton Animal Shelter and everyone there was really kind and friendly so I'd recommend others going through one of those other agencies instead. We just hope our nonrefundable $50 donation goes to good use...

I love everything about this practice. They are very professional but super caring. They have…read moreworked hard to help my cat with his gut issue, providing food for him to try. It is helping greatly. They also recently did a sanitary shave, a comb out and trimmed his nails. I'm sure he didn't feel like he had a spa day, but he looks fabulous. Dr. McAvoy was my cat's previous vet at Hybla Valley Vet, which was in business for 75 years before the state took the property under eminent domain. So, we were thrilled when she moved to this practice, as we had already started there. They also have boarding, which I have never needed. All the staff, from the admins in the front to the vet techs to the vets are experienced, knowledgeable and friendly. I 100% recommend this practice.

My pup, Chiqui, had to have surgery & Fort Hunt Animal Hospital staff, Dr. Perez & nurse Carly were…read morewonderful, professional & compassionate. Chiqui feels so much better thanks to you all & the terrific care she received!

I had a very beautiful experience at at the animal welfare league of Alexandria. I also got to…read moreadopt a very special, unique and beautiful dog named Layla at the time but has since been renamed Daisy. Daisy and I are still getting to know one another and are having quite a fun time doing so. She is such a sweet hanf

Great experience fostering a cat with them so far! They gave us everything we needed for 2 weeks…read moreand very responsive and supportive. I feel like they try to get to know each animal and support folks who are fostering as much as possible. I can't speak to the adoption side, but they seem very accommodating to that as well, trying to find the best fit and take time to understand the behavioral info that I shared with them. For fostering, it is our call if we want to meet potential adopters at the shelter and elsewhere - this can be a little confusing but I think it's better to have those in-depth conversations with those who have spent more all-day/all-night one-on-one time in advance of meeting of creatures.