Pat A Pet

Nicki is wonderful– Cara (our very energetic Irish Setter/​Poodle mix) was always so tired after her hikes. Nicki was always very responsive to emails, on time, and you could really tell that she loves the dogs. Stop here– you have found your dog walker– I looked at dozens of listings and her pricing and quality of care are just the best!

I just love Nicki and her whole team! She is a true professional and understands dog behavior! i met her over 2 years ago and my dogs behavior has drastically improved! Nicki and her whole team are wonderful! If you are in the Oakland area i highly recommend her! i moved out of the area and me and my lil poochie miss her so. i can’t express how great she is in a million words. Pros– she sends you pics of your pet during walks and visits! pros pros– your pet is mentally stimulated and relaxed after spending time with Nicki and her team. Cons– I moved too far away from her service area! we miss you Nicki!

Nicki is amazing. Not only is she great with taking my pups on fun filled adventure hikes, she’s also my go-​to person when I need her to pick my pup up from daycare or feed dinner. Granted this is all possible because I happen to live very near her but I travel a lot for work and Nicki always comes through when I need a last minute pick up/​feeding/​walk. She is reliable and I couldn’t be happier and more satisfied to have her take care of my pup.

I hate that it has taken me so long to give Nicki and Pat a Pat this review. It seems so much easier to tear terrible service apart on Unilocal but forget to post when we have amazing service.
I have 3 lovable, sweet, huge pitties. But they can be trying to say the least. She comes and walks them all separately, even taking my most problem child to a deserted cemetery for his walks. They are much easier to handle since we started with Nicki last year. She goes above and beyond every time she visits because she really loves her job. I get notes and pictures constantly. (Incidentally, she is a fabulous pet photographer!) She always is courteous and works with my schedule when needed. I’ve met a lot of dog walkers and trainers. She’s the one. My pups adore her. Seriously consider Pat a Pet if you’re looking; you won’t be disappointed!

Nicki and Sasha were wonderful. They came in on very short notice and took excellent care of my two cats. I assume that they’d be fed and they were, promptly. Two things I really appreciate when a pet care service visits my home to care for the girls — cleanliness and communication. My apartment was in very good shape. They were careful to sweep the litter that the girls scatter. They also sent me pictures of the girls playing, and gave me good status updates, so I could enjoy my vacation without worry. Nicki and Sasha were completely professional and very caring to the girls. Thank you!

Nicki is absolutely the best! Honestly, Brewster going on his walks with Nicki and his group is one of my favorite things. He gets to go often for two hours on beautiful walks all over the bay area and I know that he is always surrounded by lots of love. My neighbors have told me that Nicki always is talking to him when she picks him up and I know that he is sooo happy at the end of the day. Nicki always leaves very funny and very sweet little notes about their walks and often shares pictures. If I could give 10 stars, I would! She is 100% reliable, flexible and always responds immediately to my text messages. Hands down, as good as it gets.

Nicki does a great job. We got our little Shih Tzu mix this past December and she was super timid and not very confident. After going on the group walks with Nicki, she has gained a ton of confidence, is more physically strong and just generally more happy. What’s great about Nicki’s group for small dogs is that your dog will get more than just a walk, your dog will get a full outing with other dogs… which makes a huge difference.

I am so happy to have found Nikki! I work all day and wanted my lil man to get out and run around during the day. I had never used a dog walker before and am now hooked! Nikki is such a sweet, professional woman and I can tell she really loves what she does and loves the dogs she walks. I look forward to coming home after she has walked my dog and reading the «report card» she leaves about what she did with lil man that day and his personality and how he acted. I can always tell he had a good time because he is exhausted at night :) Thank you Nikki for taking such good care of my precious lil man.

Nicki is AMAZING! We have two boys (they’re both mutts) — both with their own unique personalities and quirks. And Nicki was willing to deal with the whole sh’bang! During our first meeting, Nicki was incredibly thorough — she asked a ton of questions about what our guys like, don’t like, what kind of food they eat, behavioral issues, etc. She wrote everything down and was on top of it the entire time. When it came time for her first pet sitting gig with them, she was awesome! She took them out twice a day on walks to their favorite nearby parks and fed them according to our instructions. She even wrote a little journal of what they did together each day and left it for us to read when we got back from vacation. We loved her so much we asked her to watch them again!
Nicki is completely professional and we absolutely LOVE HER! Our boys love her, too… they’re always so happy to see her and its clear that Nicki truly loves her work and the animals she looks after.

I’m one of *those* dog owners. My two chihuahua mixes are my babies. They sleep in the bed, rule the couches and only eat the best organic dog food. One of them has very typical chihuahua type personality ‘challenges’. He’s incredibly loyal to us, but has intense separation anxiety and is extremely timid/​fearful of anyone he does not know. He can even be fear aggressive at times. My other chihuahua loves people, but is very aggressive around other dogs. Combined, they can have the worst of all dog personality traits — making it nearly impossible to find dog sitters/​walkers they can work with.
Finding Nicki was like an absolute godsend. She is incredibly personable, trustworthy and a complete professional. But most importantly, she has a clear passion and talent for working with animals. I have never seen my two dogs take to anyone like they did to Nicki. Her patience, skill and keen understanding of dog behavior made for an incredibly positive experience for my dogs and for me. Nicki took wonderful care of my two babies and my house while I was out of town. She indulged all my crazy, paranoid instructions and called me while I was gone to give me a detailed status report. If you’re in need of some one to care for your dogs while out of town, or if you just need a dog walker I can’t recommend Nicki enough.