Paws Afoot

We are so grateful to have found Paws Afoot when we did! We have a lovable but fearful and somewhat unruly Pom and we adopted sweet mix from PAWS only days before hiring Lise. When my mother who lived in Florida was diagnosed with a late-​stage terminal illness and we were faced with my immediately leaving the state for at least a few weeks to help care for her, we were left wondering what in the world we would do for the dogs for such a long period. Although Ella (our adopted girl) would have done very well at dog daycare, it isn’t an option for Whidbey (the Pom) due to severe «social anxiety;» and, with my husband’s long workdays, leaving them home alone all day wasn’t an option. Add to that Whidbey’s leash aggression and Houdini moves, and we had a problem; we had under a week to find a walker we could trust not only with spending time with our dogs, but one with whom Whidbey could be at ease and who could demonstrate strong experience effectively managing his brand of challenging behavior. Enter Paws Afoot!
I searched the Internet for ideas and found Lise’s site. Since we live in an area we knew would be a stretch for her, I had no expectation that she could help us, but she seemed such a perfect fit and time was so short, I had to try. Happily, after I shared the details of our quandary, she didn’t miss a beat before agreeing to help us. There are no words for how grateful and relieved I was. She came to the house before my departure to introduce herself and to give the dogs a chance to become acquainted with her, and I knew we’d struck gold from the moment she arrived; her technique was spot-​on for a dog like Whidbey. Things went swimmingly! I discussed our needs with her, she inquired about all of those «What would you like me to know about your dogs?» questions, and before she left, we had everything in writing. I found her thoroughly professional and approachable from the moment we met, and that impression would remain throughout our contract.
Each day Lise visited the house, she walked the dogs and then spent time playing and snuggling with them (that snuggling extended to the cat — not that he would have given her an option). She tended diligently to Whidbey’s on-​leash behavior — no small undertaking — and left notes after each visit so my husband would know how things went; she even went above and beyond to text me photos and updates. And, although she had offered to help us on a more temporary basis due to her busy regular training and walking schedule heading into fall, when my time in Florida turned from weeks to months, she continued to work with us to do everything she could to ensure the dogs’ needs were met.
We will be forever grateful for LIse’s generosity, dependability, professionalism, skill, and her natural love for these creatures. She stepped up during what was to become the single most difficult period in our lives thus far and gave us one less thing to worry about. We cannot recommend her services highly enough.