About Gemma

Reviewed on 10/20/2012

Gemma is awesome and I highly recommend her! We are new to the area and our 2 cats and 3 large dogs (two 90 pound Labs and a very loving but rambunctious Pit Bull). Our dogs have never been in a kennel and we didn't want to start now because they are just happier when they get to stay home while we are gone plus not many kennels accept Pit Bulls and felt our older arthritic dog would be too traumatized in a loud concrete kennel. We knew home sitting was the way to go but we were very concerned about finding someone who was trustworthy and comfortable handling our dogs because the 2 younger ones get rowdy at times and not all people who claim to be pet sitters are experienced dog handlers. Gemma responded to my post here immediately and I liked her right away because she also has a Pit and knows the challenges of raising and handling such an energetic breed and also how to deal with the social stigma that comes along with owning one. She came by our house a few days later to meet us and go through our routine. We knew she was the one because all 3 dogs responded immediately to her commands and settled down after she'd been there a while. The cats also came out and were very relaxed around her so that was a good sign too. While we were gone she called or texted us each day letting us know how things were going and dealt well with all of the chaos in our home like a true professional. I work at home so our dogs are with one of us pretty much 24/7 and they tend to bark when we aren't home at night and she handled a neighbor's complaint (who didn't know we were gone) very professionally and also gave them baths when one of them got skunked! I'm confident that if one of our animals needed veterinary care she would've handled that situation like a pro as well. Given the rambunctiousness, neighbor complaint and skunking episode we were pretty sure she would be really stressed (because we sure were) but she took it all in stride and did a great job of helping us remain calm and worry free and always made sure we knew she had things under control at home and reminded us that our goal was to relax and enjoy our vacation. Her confidence and expert handling of the unexpected issues was impressive. The ultimate test was us coming home to house full of happy and relaxed animals. Gem is a dog trainer and she worked with the dogs while we were gone and fixed some of the bad habits we had allowed them develop over time :). The cats got wet food each night and obviously quite a bit of attention too. I recommend giving her a call if you are in the Santa Cruz Mountains and need a responsible pet sitter.