Find a Pet Sitter in Malden

Let me just start off by saying, yes, my hound is spoiled. Are you over it, and can handle the fact that there are dogs who go to play groups while their owners are earning the money to pay for it? If so, read on. If not, go find another review to entertain yourself with!Christine, owner of Happy Tails, has taken care of B for the better part of the last year. He goes to "play group" twice a week, to stay well-socialized with other pooches, and to get him out of my hair so that I can do my grocery shopping and whatnot. B also stays overnight with her when I'm vacationing or away for business, for what amounts to about one week out of every two months.So far, my experience with Happy Tails has largely been great. Christine and her employees reliably arrive to pick up and drop off Bentley, and he seems to have fun there. Christine is really in-tune with the dogs, I think, and definitely seems to have their best interests at heart. She's great about feeding whatever foods and treats you supply for your dog (in case, like mine, yours has a sensitive tummy and shouldn't eat just anything), and administering medicines and supplements. She brushes B while he's staying with her too, so he routinely comes back to me looking better than when he went!Christine always has a handful of dogs living with her, and so when B goes to stay for overnights, he's integrated into her pack. Mostly the pack is stable (not too many transient dogs coming and going), and so he's familiar with them, and they with him, and it seems to do him good to learn how to not be a spoiled only-dog, if only for a week.I have to admit, B can be a handful. He's one of those dogs who "has issues." What's truly awesome is that Christine and the Happy Tails folks take this in stride, and work with (and sometimes around) him on it. The occasional growly behavior or scuffle isn't thought of as a cause for hysteria, and is calmly dealt with. I know other folks who have had dogs with similar behavioral problems summarily kicked out of their daycare or boarding places, and am so thankful that Christine has a more flexible policy. I do get the sense that if a dog had truly dangerous aggression problems, and were a threat to the other animals, her, or her staff, she'd deal with it appropriately, too.One thing to back up that supposition: Christine does not insist that you sign a release absolving her of responsibility for your dog's health and welfare. You'd be shocked by how many doggie daycares I interviewed in the Boston area that did just that (with gruesome legalese stating that they're absolutely not responsible if your dog dies in their care). Also, how many of these places that do boarding actually leave the dogs unattended ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. Once they're put in cages and the lights are out, the people all go home. Not with Christine! The dogs sleep on beds and cushions, cage-free, in her home.OK, at this point, if you're still reading, you're going to wonder why I'm giving Happy Tails four stars instead of five. Just a couple of relatively minor things: 1) B once came home from an overnight stay with a very minor bite wound to his ear, which went unnoticed and so unreported to me; 2) Christine isn't great about answering her phone, and never ever responds to emails. Once you learn her communication style though, it's really no big deal. I know she's getting the emails (which I send to book overnights for Bentley), and I also know she'd call me back were it urgent.