Active Paws Inc

I was a customer of Active Paws (for nearly 3 years), roughly $5,500 annually.
 Overall the walkers were very good, but very poor customer service (when it comes to concerns). On a rare occasion I was home while my dog was picked-up and dropped off. I noticed my dog was only walked for 30 min (They do offer 30 min walks, this walker had just started walking my dog and i wanted to make sure that she knew that i pay for the extended walk, which is 50 min)
I sent Cara an email. The reply i received from Cara at Active Paws included a photo from camera outside the Active Paws shop (showing the walker leaving) with a time stamp that would indicate my dog could not have been walked for 50 min, (in her email she says the clock the camera is 7 min fast), (Now she could have simply replied with "will make sure your dog is walked for full time" and that would be satisfactory / end of the issue with me. not to mention if you have the audacity to send Time Stamped Camera Images of your Employee's leaving the office (to convince your customer that they are mistaken; then you might want to make sure the clock is accurate so you don't have to say that its 7 min fast) but my real issue is how She responded to my concern).
The  response I received from Cara concluded with that it sounds like you don?t trust us and you should take your business elsewhere. I am small business owner (even with my most difficult customers I would never talk like that or tell my customer to go away).  She could have handled this in so many ways to salvage the relationship. I replied back giving her another chance to come back with a more appropriate response. Few minutes latter she closed my account (leaving me in a very difficult situation)  I have never been treated so unprofessionally in my life by service provider then i was by Active Paws. i was not even give the opportunity to continue on to find another walker.

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I had a great experience with Active Paws, especially Cara and Gerard. I had a trip planned for 3 days and needed someone to take our 7 month old golden retriever, Tilly, once a day (my husband was home in the late afternoons.) This was the first time I had left her for any length of time and was nervous about finding a service I could trust.
I called Active Paws and Cara was very responsive. We set up a time for Gerard to come to our house to meet Tilly. Gerard was great with Tilly and was very knowledgeable about everything dog-related. He definitely made me feel comfortable that she would be OK.
Gerard came every day at around 10:30-11 to pick up Tilly. He brought her to a playgroup in Newton where Tilly was able to run around and play in a very large outdoor space with a group of other dogs. Gerard was great about leaving notes every day to let us know how Tilly was doing. Very nice to get the feedback! Overall, it was a very smooth experience and extremely reasonable for the amount of time Tilly was in their care. I will definitely call Active Paws the next time I go away.
Cara and Gerard, thank you for taking such great care of Tilly!!

It has always gone great! They are always on time, friendly, responsible, and always in communication with me (I love my daily little notes!). I now have another dog, and another job that has me traveling more than I like. Active Paws is always there! On time, rain, snow, heat, every single day. I have never, in all these years had them miss a walk. In all these years they have never missed a visit or mixed up days.
Active Paws is great for dog walks, dog sitting, the whole dog care package. My first dog was hyper lab who was fairly reactive with other dogs. They took the time to create a situation that worked for her (and me), walking her on her own, and only with dogs she tolerated well. As she got older and could barely walk, they would come and still spend the full time with her, petting her and sitting with her in my yard. They even came to say goodbye the day before I had to let her go.
My current dog is a little spirited rescue who demands lots of snuggly love, and Active Paws always provides the best care.
Hand down A+ recommendation!

Thought they were unprofessional in their demeanor and especially their attitude. They made no effort in attempting to get to know my dog. Another service came in the next day, made  my dog comfortable and at ease with her in five minutes. We have been using them ever since. They  absolutely love my dog and I love the excellent  job they do. So glad we found such a professionally run provider instead of Active Paws.

We met Cara and Gerard, the owners, when they came to meet our cat when we were looking for a sitter. Immediately they made us comfortable and got our cat up into their arms and purring away! Every time we went away we got a picture of our cat on their first visit so we knew they were visiting and was welcomed home to a happy cat and a note how the visit(s) went. They did a great job taking care of our cat and adapting to her moods, cuddly or playful. Her food and litter box was well kept and they went above the pet services by taking in the mail and switching up the lights in the house.
We also use their store to buy our cat food and the staff has been great! About a year ago our very picky eater just stopped eating her normal food. Cara gave us samples for us to try and helped us find a new food that was healthy and our cat would eat! They often have dogs or cats in the store and are very pet friendly, while maintaining a profesional and clean store.

Outstanding! For this dog sitting job, ActivePaws assigned us Taylor for the first time, because our usual sitters were booked. Taylor did a wonderful job. Our three dogs all have special needs, as they're older. One has a sensitive back and needs to be carried from the grass to our deck; he also needs eye drops all day long, because one of his eyes doesn't make tears. Another needs a lot of attention and exercise or he'll be a bully. And the last but not least dog needs a lot of medicine every day to manage her health, and she sometimes has pee accidents due to her condition. Taylor took a photo, which Active Paws sent to us, to show us that our dogs were doing well. Taylor took care of all three dogs and their special needs with aplomb. She took our energetic dog on a walk every day. She wrote us a very detailed note about how each dog was during the weekend. Taylor cleaned up a pee accident one of our dogs had too. She even put two cups she used in the dish washer. Active Paws knows their stuff, because their dog sitters are all outstanding. We'll continue to hire them for all our dog sitting needs.

This dog sit job was the first time Lauren watched our zoo (three dogs), and she did an excellent job. I expect no less from Active Paws anyway, because they always do a bang out job. Lauren visited our dogs at home four times a day, and walked our energetic dog once a day. She also spent time with all three in our yard, even in the crazy heat, and of course she would bring them inside if it got too hot. 
Lauren gave one of our dogs special medicines that she needs every day, a liquid and a pill (well two pills, one morning, one evening). Laura, the operations manager told me that Lauren's experience would be a great match for our older, needy dogs, and she was right. Lauren did a wonderful job with our dogs. 
We got home and found our dogs napping, because they were clearly taken care of, needs met and then some, and tuckered out from having such a good time with their dog sitter. Lauren left us a lovely, detailed note so we knew what we didn't have to do that evening, because she already took care of it. 
Lauren even took the time to wash the dog bowls. I can't say my wife and I wash the dog bowls as often as they do, so it really is a nice touch. 
 Thank you Lauren, Laura, and all of ActivePaws for taking such wonderful care of our dogs over the incredibly hot holiday weekend while we were away.

Active Paws is consistently reliable and attentive. They always contact us after the first visit to confirm that they were able to get in to our house.  They leave detailed reports about our cats' behavior, and they are always very personable and positive.  We have been using them for approximately 5 years, and have had consistently positive experiences with all of their catsitters.

Active Paws provides pet CPR trained animal loving professionals to walk your furry family.  They've been doing that for two years for our two pups and we couldn't be happier.  It's clear that the staff love animals, make a connection with the pups and put their all into their jobs.

I'm running out of positive words of praise for Active Paws. Every time we hire them they do a fantastic job of taking care of our dogs. They out did themselves this time though.
Lisa, the dog sitter from ActivePaws, fed our dogs, took them outside to potty, spent time with them in the yard or in the house, and walked our active dog once a day.
Lisa also dealt with all sorts of surprises while we were away, for which we are very grateful. One of our smoke detectors went off, which set of all of them, and she took it down and changed the battery. One of our dogs hurt his back, and she worked with the ActivePaws team to take him to the emergency vet to get checked out. Laura, Lisa, and Cara kept in contact with us about our dog and took care to inform us about how he was doing. Lisa gave our dog  his medicine and carried him in and outside while his back recovered, and kept him in his crate at all other times, as the vet recommended. 
It was scary to be away when one of our dogs needed us, but Cara reassured us she had everything under control, and she definitely did. She and her staff are so knowledgeable and talented with pets, so we know our dogs are getting the best care possible.
ActivePaws sent us pictures of all three of them every few days to keep us up to date. It was hard being away from our dogs for such a long time, but we also could enjoy ourselves on vacation because we are so confident in ActivePaws. 
When we got home, as usual, our dogs were sound asleep thanks to Lisa's excellent dog sitting, and we came home to a note that included lovely details about how the dogs had been. Lisa even mowed our back yard lawn while we were gone, to make it easier on the dogs and us. That kind of service deserves an amazing award, for Lisa and all of ActivePaws team members for taking care of our four legged friends so we could enjoy our honeymoon.

Outstanding. Every time ActivePaws takes care of our dogs, we leave knowing they will take excellent care of our three elderly dogs, AND, we come home to the most peaceful dogs. Normally our dogs bark when we get home, but whenever we get home after ActivePaws watches them (particularly Lisa) our dogs are all sleeping peacefully. I am sure it is because they got everything they needed and more.
ActivePaws always sends us a photo of our dogs to let us know they are OK, which is so reassuring. They understand how much we miss our dogs when we leave, and how much we worry about them. Each of them has his/her own special needs, be it medicine, cuddle time, or a need to play. 
On top of the dog sitting, it's especially reassuring to have someone visit our home while we are away. Lisa, the dog sitter, brings the mail in, and I am absolutely sure this time, she actually shoveled the back deck and our drive way because we got some snow in Boston while we were away. I was speechless when I realized she had done that. Truly outstanding service.
I always recommend ActivePaws to my friends who have pets if they need pet sitting. Cara, Laura, Lisa, and all the other staff members have always been helpful, attentive, informative, and kind, on top of their professional skill.

Our dog is taken our for 20 minute walks around the neighborhood.  Because we like it, she is walked with other dogs.  If it's too rainy or cold the walk is shorter and then the dog walker comes back inside and either plays or cuddles with our dog.  Total time of service is not sacrificed because of bad weather.

Can't say enough good things about this company. I was very wary when I started looking for a dog walker- needed someone that my dog enjoyed spending time with and that I felt comfortable giving a key to my house. I had a couple of bad experiences with other companies (unprofessional, late, careless with the safety of my dog) - but found Active Paws a few years ago and have been so happy! My dog LOVES his time with Gerard and I know that if I am running low on supplies or need advice I can call the storefront. 

We have always been very happy with Active Paws, and this time was even more wonderful. We know our dogs were well cared for because when we got home from being away, we didn't hear a peep. Our dogs were soundly asleep because all of their needs were met: food, attention, affection, and exercise for the energetic one. 
Scheduling was simple: we emailed Active Paws and Laura got back to us promptly, so promptly, we didn't have to worry about when to book our airfare. She let us know Lisa could visit our dogs four times a day, which we were thrilled about, because Lisa has cared for our dogs before.
Lisa took photos and emailed us updates, which we loved to get. She took the time to spend couch time with our older dogs, even though she walked our energetic dog every day. Lisa left us an informative and sweet note explaining how the dogs were while we were away. 
She gave us peace of mind and fantastic dog sitting, from a company I trust and admire.
We always know Active Paws will take good care of our dogs, and recommend them to any friends who need pet sitting (and/or pet supplies)!

Active Paws is amazing.  I had to go out of town suddenly with a death
in the family, and Active Paws immediately jumped into action. And I was
a new client!  They were already scheduled to come walk my 65-pound
shepherd-lab mix over Thanksgiving, but were able to start a few days
early, under the circumstances. I was incredibly impressed with their
responsiveness and reliability, which is absolutely key for me. I am
super organized and anal about my dog care, and I will never go to
anyone else other than Active Paws because they are so good. 
They are totally reasonable in their pricing - $18 per walk, without
major hikes on the weekends or holidays.  They have doggie groups and
walks too.  And you get the same walker assigned to you, although they
have a large array of walkers, which makes me feel good because my last
walker canceled on me numerous times, and I didn't have a backup. With
Active Paws, I never have to worry that they will come through on their
commitment.  I also love the Pet Store they operate on Trapelo Road in
Waltham, and now buy my dog food from them.

We have met the dog walkers in person; they are nice, professional, and very good with dogs (and their owners).  After each walk we receive a written note with information about where they walked, if other dogs were along also, and other pertinent information.  On occasion, we have needed unexpected overnight dog sitting and the folks at Active Paws have been wonderful about making sure that our dog was cared for, walked, and even slept over at a dog walkers house so as to not be left alone overnight.  Another great thing is that Active Paws also has the pet / food store and can deliver food and treats as part of their service (billed on invoice).

At first we were nervous, because it was the first time we've hired a dog sitting service. We shop at ActivePaws for dog food and dog toys, so we already had a great experience with the friendly and knowledgeable staff. The owner of ActivePaws, Cara, and the operations manager, Debra, came to our house to meet our dogs. Our dogs instantly loved both of them. Cara and Debra asked lots of questions while we filled out paperwork. We also showed them our dog routine. We knew we were in good hands with ActivePaws based on all the other glowing reviews, and our experiences with the store, but we were in for a real treat--actually our dogs were more so! Debra sent us a picture once in a while of our dogs, which was incredibly reassuring to know how they were doing while we were away. She also emailed us to let us know how things were going. Debra also stayed the night, which was very reassuring to us since one dog needed medicine late in the evening. Everything about ActivePaws makes it such a great company: professional, knowledgeable, personable, careful, trustworthy. We could go on and on. We recommend them to anyone we know who wants to buy pet food or hire pet sitters. We were beyond satisfied with the service Active Paws provided to us and our dogs.

They were great. They always take photos and text them to me and they play with him and make sure he's got food and water.

We started with Active Paws because we were looking for a service that could give our dogs longer (~50min) walks at a reasonable price. Cara was extremely flexible and responsive in finding a solution for us. She and our dog walker, Melissa, came over and met the dogs, had a conversation with us about our needs, the dogs' personalities, etc. We did a test week of walks, and the rest is history as they say. Cara is extremely responsive, especially over email, and is great about confirming housesitting dates, reminding about holidays, etc. They also offer all sorts of other fabulous customer service, like delivering dog food from the store or bringing a replacement harness when ours broke. They are also on board with working on specific training issues etc. that we bring up during their time with the dogs. We have also used them for cat care and for housesitting. Their prices are competitive with other licensed/bonded services. The important part is that I feel totally confident that they will be at the house when they say they will be, which is in stark contrast to previous sitters. We even got a text from Melissa last time with a picture of the dogs so we could get on our plane knowing they are all set. Melissa is good about letting us know which employee will be staying, and they leave detailed notes about their visit. All in all, I have been extremely impressed with both the level of care and the level of customer service with Cara and her team. Having been through several services and sitters over the years, I can definitely say that Active Paws is the cream of the crop.

We are extremely happy with their service and professionalism. Cara visited in person to discuss our needs and introduce us to our walker. They were able to start for us on short notice. We can relax knowing they are visiting and caring for the dog while we are at work. Very knowledgable about dog behavior as well.

We were very happy with the service and everyone from Active Paws has been incredibly professional. We plan to use them for other trips we have planned and have frequented their store for pet products. Their knowledgeable staff has been able to recommend both a vet and different types of pet food.

They are awesome. They are great with my dog, they're on time, they're caring and give great advice for pet owners.

Active Paws is punctual and totally reliable. We don't lightly entrust the care of our dog to others. We would only give a positive recommendation if we felt totally confident that the care and safety of our pet was assured - and we have absolutely no reservations about giving an unqualified positive recommendation for Active Paws.