Pawsitive Petcare

Shari and her team have been remarkable. They have walked our dog for the past 3 years without a single issue. Shari has accommodated our constantly fluctuating schedule with grace and ease. As we move out of Evanston, Shari and her team at Pawsitive Pet Care leave big shoes to fill.

I was so lucky to have Shari and her fabulous walker Kiea take care of my dog Royal Pain. Talk about professional, this company is the definition. Always on time, always left a note AND loved my dog Royal Pain.
I once ran a dog walking company and this company ran just as good if not better.

The service is excellent. We have 4 cats and the experience was great from the start. Excellent communication and updates while we were away concerning our cats. We returned from our trip with all in order. We will definitely use Pawsitive Petcare again.

This glowing review is way overdue! Last November we found ourselves going to a last minute, six day family reunion over the HOLIDAY /​Thanksgiving week AND we needed a daily visiting Cat Sitter ~ with very short notice: YIKES! Worse yet, this would be the first time we’d ever left our two precious kitties home alone.
Shari and Darren were able to accommodate us despite the short notice and busy holiday time for them too. At first we were a little hesitant: while the reviews (and adorable photos) were very reassuring and positive ~ we noticed that most of them were about dogs, canine care and dog-​walking ~ were they as experienced with house cats too?
As soon as Shari came by to meet the cats, familiarize herself with the house, the kitties’ routines and quirks, as wells as any other details we needed to have covered ~ I felt complete confidence that I could entrust our babies with Shari and Darren.
While we were away (in the mountains with very hit or miss connections) we spoke with Shari on the phone and received several reassuring emails. When we returned home, everything was just as if we were never away. The cats, while thrilled to have us home ~ but were also very happy, healthy and stress-​free! What more could you ask from a pet sitter?
What we found in Pawsitive Petcare (Shari & Darren, et al) is a petcare service with caring, responsible, reliable, and experienced dog-​walkers, pet sitters and/​visiting caretakers. We feel a lot more comfortable the next time we go out of town knowing we have Pawsitive Petcare to step in for us! We would recommend them to anyone seeking these services and the peace of mind knowing your precious pets are in loving, trustworthy hands.

I used Pawsitive Petcare for almost 2 years while attending grad school at Northwestern. Shari and her team are fantastic and I highly recommend them! Each quarter my schedule would change and they were very accommodating to those changes. In addition, Shari has a very flexible policy about last minute additional walks, which I greatly appreciated.

I’ve been using Pawsitive Petcare since this past summer, when I adopted a cute beagle/​boston terrier mix from a local shelter and needed someone immediately to start walking him. Shari and Darren were awesome and so flexible from the very start! They gave me tips on how to handle my dog and consistently leave notes each day to let me know any mishaps (usually a daily basis with my little guy) that have happened. They have cleaned up countless messes of destruction my dog has greeted them with mid-​day to ensure that he is safe and no longer has access to anything dangerous.
He started out being a bit difficult to walk and still has a great deal of separation anxiety and puppy boredom. Their encouragement and kind demeanor, however, has definitely helped my dog a lot. I know he genuinely loves seeing them each day! They are open and non-​judgmental to all of the little weird things I have tried (playing my own voice from my computer, leaving numerous daily peanut-​butter packed KONGS, etc) to help my dog with his anxieties. Shari also sends me text messages during my long work day to let me know anything important that might have happened. If my schedule changes last minute, they are both very cordial and professional about it– they do not charge cancellation fees as do many «snobbier» dog walking companies. Shari and Darren are two very great people that enjoy what they do and care about the dogs and people they work with.
On top of all of this, their rates are awesome for the area. They are even on their way to– fingers crossed– having a doggy daycare center in the future! I hope this happens because myself and I’m sure many of their other clients will definitely be happy to use and suggest them to anyone. I have full trust with my dog in their care and will use them for as long as I am in the area. Thank you Shari and Darren for all of your hard work and compassion!

Shari is the best! Every time we go away she takes care of our cats, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. We had one cat who needed subcutaneous fluids, which she handled like a pro, and our cats are on different diets due to medical needs. She also watered my plants and took in the mail. She also texts me a few times through the week to let me know the kitties are okay. The price is absolutely fair for the services provided, and it is such a relief knowing that my pets are in good hands. Shari is trustworthy and great with animals!

Shari and company once again were more than willing to help me and did a terrific job. I had to dog sit my grand dog for the week but also had to work long hours. One phone call to Shari and she was more than willing to put us on the schedule for the week. I would recommend Pawsitive to anyone who needed great pet care. Until next time thanks Pawsitive!

Pawsitive Pet Care and our walker Claire have provided stellar service since our first contact! We have been using them for a little over a year and started when our lab puppy was only 8 wks. I was so nervous to leave our pup alone while I was working out in the suburbs, but Claire left notes and made me feel at ease that Nelly was in great hands. My husband has a pretty random schedule and Shari is always so responsive and flexible with whatever we may need. Shari and Claire have gone above and beyond several times and I can’t thank them enough for taking such good care of our special pup! Excellent!

Update:
We still love Pawsitive Petcare! We’ve used them quite a bit and our dog seems very happy. We even ran into Darren on our street one day and he knew Wally by name, which made me feel a little rude that I couldn’t remember his! Whoops.

Shari and her team have been a lifesaver for me, my husband, and our pittie/​husky/​shepard/​beagle-​mix, Dixie. We have used their walking and petsitting services when we’re away for extended periods of time, and have been really pleased with all aspects. Dixie is quite a difficult dog to walk on leash, and Pawsitive Petcare’s team has taken it in stride, always leaving notes about the crazy/​funny things she did on their walks, and always reassuring us that she’s not the wildest animal they’ve ever encountered.
The petsitting services are fantastic — we were devastated after our former boarding facility was no longer working out, and we worried about what to do with Dixie during rapidly approaching weekend trips. Shari is great to work with, and she always arranges a meeting for us and the potential sitter so we can meet and approve beforehand. The prices are reasonable — really, not much more than what we paid to board Dixie — plus, your dog gets the comfort of staying in their home when you are away. The sitters we have used (shout out to Lindsay and Beth!) have been awesome, and we can enjoy our time away knowing that our dog is in the good hands of someone who cares for her. That peace of mind is priceless, and I would recommend Pawsitive Petcare to anyone looking for walking services or an alternative to boarding. Great people and service!

Darren and Shari walk my dog during the week, and he absolutely LOVES them! I was referred to Darren from a colleague of mine, and also a neighbor in my building. They are super accommodating and very flexible — especially with last minute changing schedules!
I know that Griffin enjoys spending time with them, as he doesn’t hesitate to walk up to Darren and sit at his feet for a rub as soon as he sees him coming… .
I would recommend Pawsitive Petcare to anyone, they are great!

Shari and Darren walk our dog Winston during the week, and we could not be happier about this! They leave wonderful notes, feed him lunch, and give him a good walk.
Winston has also stayed with them when we were away for a long weekend. He had a great time and came home very well loved and taken care of.
The best!

Our family used Shari for pet sitting while we were on vacation for 10 days over Spring Break. When we returned our dogs were happy, house the way we left it (good or bad), mail and paper taken it and… mellow, happy dogs! I totally appreciate this service

I found this company through Unilocal and I’m so thankful I did. They’ve taken great care of our two Labradors while we were out of town and they even leave little notes when you get back. Shari & Darren have worked with me on last minute/​emergency trips too which is great knowing that was one less thing I had to worry about when we had a family member pass away.
I’ve gone through Pawsitive Petcare for both pet sitting & dog walking and they are reliable, kind and my doggies love them. Thanks Shari & Darren for all the love you show our dogs!

Shari provides great, reliable service. She has a strong team of walkers and overnight sitters. I always felt comfortable leaving my dog with her. I have high standards when it comes to my dog and she always met them!

I met Shari when I was out walking my dog and happened to be looking for a dog walker. I was having trouble finding a service that was available for one time walks, but that was no issue at all for Shari. Shari is so nice and friendly, and I was impressed with her knowledge of dogs and training. It is obvious that she really loves dogs and I felt completely comfortable having her come into my home when I wasn’t home and having her walk my puppy. I love that she left me a note after each of the walks to let me know how my dog did and what «business“‘ he had taken care of. I will definitely use them again and would recommend them to anyone looking for a dog walker or pet sitter.

Darren and Shari have been our dog walkers since 2008 and we couldn’t be happier with the service they provide. We have/​had two dogs with «issues»; one was aggressive towards dogs while on leash and the current one is sometimes aggressive towards strangers. Walking them can be challenging to say the least, but Darren and Shari have enough experience and knowledge to comfortably handle them. They even came to our house on a Sunday to meet the new dog, Bruno, before the scheduled walk on Monday in an attempt to get him comfortable.
Occasionally I’ve left special instructions ranging from asking that the dogs food bowls be put down for them after the walk if I’m going to be home late or requesting that Audrey wear her coat in the cold weather (and Bella her boots during the winter.) They’ve always been more than happy to oblige. And they’ve been very patient with my husband’s ever changing and sometimes sporadic work schedule.
We’ve also used Darren and Shari for overnight care several times and every time we’ve returned to two very well-​cared for doggies. After one vacation, we were surprised to see our previously rough treat-​grabbing Bella ever so gently take her treat out of our hands. I still have no idea how they were able to teach her that since we’d been trying for years!
I love that I never have to worry about our pets knowing Darren and Shari are watching after them and taking care of them as well (or better!) than we would. And I can tell how much Bruno loves Shari by the fact that I always see Bruno’s most loved toy/​s dropped at the front door from when he greeted her.

Darren & Shari are wonderful dog walkers & sitters! I currently have 3 dogs — German Shepherd, Pitty-​Mastiff Mix & another Pitty mix. My girls are the BEST judges of character so when they gave their personal approval of Darren & Shari, I really didn’t need any additional convincing that Pawsitive Petcare was the right choice for us.
Our first introduction was when I had my 9 year old Staffie, Payton. He was diagnosed with nose cancer & needed a lot of special care, medicine & was on a special diet. When my grandfather in Europe passed away, I could not put him in a kennel & trust that he would get the attention he needed. I met with several pet sitters but Darren & Shari immediately connected with Payton & truly cared about what his needs were vs. calculating an itemized bill for each time he needed to take a pill or have medicine administered. That, folks, shows that these people actually CARE about their clients — I really don’t know how else I can highlight the imperative emotional connection that comes naturally to these folks without crying all over my laptop & thus incurring some God-​awful Apple water damage keyboard replacement fee…
Payton has since passed but not without enjoying the best pup sitters & walkers in the Chicagoland area.
Moving on: Staying with my bed hogs when I have to run out of town is no easy feat for anyone & it’s really ME who gets separation anxiety when I have to leave the girls, not them. Daily email updates filled with funny stories of their days adventures made me feel as if I was still there with them, not half a world away.
Darren & Shari understand the importance of my girls nutritional needs (no balking at the bloody raw food my girls eat and yes, raw food can be a bloody mess).
Oh, and the plants really did «shake a leaf» at the «pawsitive plant-​care» they too received! It’s really an extra nice bonus to come home to green thriving plants!
Since we are moving out of the area, we are all very upset to be losing what seems to have become extended family. :(
Ginger, Bella & Mala thank you for all your care & love… they know other very lucky pups will get to enjoy you & your fine services… they’re a little jealous, but they do understand!

Shari is a wonderful dog-​walker. She walks our two dogs (1 standard poodle and 1 shitzu) daily, and is wonderfully flexible about our ever-​changing schedule. Our little dog has separation anxiety and stranger anxiety, and Shari works wonderfully with him despite the difficulties these behaviors present. I would highly recommend their services. They are trustworthy and reliable.