Critter Care Of Silicon Valley

Critter Care's owner told us several years ago that she was quitting so I believe it would help if this business was marked "closed." We used Critter Care for cats and dogs on and off for 20 years. The care givers were very good for the first two years with the exception of one woman who would, according to my neighbors who witnessed this, leave a toddler in the car every time she cared for my pets.

I was saddened to know that a baby was left in the car alone! Then when they asked if the baby could come in the house, I said, "No." Not only should they not be caring for a baby while working, but if the baby was hurt, e.g. teased my cat and got scratched, I could be in trouble. So that was super stressful. That hurt more than helped. Then the caregivers did a pretty good job with our large dog.

Then all of a sudden after several years the sitters kept making huge mistakes. For one they lost the key. Then they forgot to show up. Then the owner kept saying, I'm quitting anyway! I don't want to work anymore. (Bizarre.) I couldn't tell if she didn't like me and was just making mistakes so I'd fire her, or did she have a medical or memory problem?

I couldn't tell if I should worry about her mental health or be offended by wanting to get rid of me as a client? Anyway, we got a different pet sitter due to the major and serious problems and drama "at the end" and won't ever call Critter Care again. The owner droned on and on about how she wanted to stop caring for pets. It was bizarre.

I hope that she lives a good life and if she truly retired, I hope she is healthy and happy! The care was not perfect but there was a lot of respect for the pets over the years.

I called to have my Rottweiler walked that was 1 1/2 years old. They would not walk him. It says they do dog walks, but I guess they only do certain breeds. So if you have a Rottweiler this is not the place to go.

We have had Critter Care provide services for our cats for 12 years. We LOVE the services that we receive from Ginny and her staff. Our kitties are very well cared for when we travel. We HIGHLY recommend Critter Care to our friends and family members. They are efficient, kind, caring and our kitties really enjoy their staff members too!

We recently used Critter Care to come in and feed our two precious cats over this past weekend, while we got away on a family camping trip. It was the first time we had to leave our little ones over night, and I was particularly nervous about doing so. All the people I would normally entrust to take care of them, were on the trip with us, so I was scrambling on what I should do.

I called our vet and they recommended Wendy from Critter Care. I set up an appointment for her to come and "interview" us to get the ins and outs of our cats' schedules, and it was immediately apparent that she was an animal lover and activist. It gave me just the reassurance I needed to leave my cats in her care during our short, weekend camping trip.

While we were gone, she sent updates and pictures, which put me more at ease. The only tricky part was getting our key back from her, but we managed just fine after some coordination. I'll definitely use Critter Care in the future. Though I'd wish someone could be there 24/7 and give them the same attention we do, I think it beats pulling the cats out of their usual environment and putting them in a big kennel. Loved it, and will use again!

I just hired Critter Care for the first time and am thrilled with Ginny. She went above and beyond imo while caring for our cat. She even called me while we were gone to ask where his brush was because I left a note saying he loved being brushed. She watered our plants, got the mail, and even set the garbage can out and brought it back in! I felt very comfortable leaving our fur baby in her care and will definitely be using her again for all future trips! Thanks again Ginny!

I have been working with Critter Care for over 5 years now and I've always had a good experience. They are very professional and thorough when caring for my pets and home. The office staff and the three pet sitters I have used have always done a good job. Highly Recommend!

Avoid! We had Critter Care look after our two cats while we were on a 4 week vacation. We have two Littermaid automatic litter boxes that we have used for years. When the sitter (who is a contractor working for CC) came for the initial visit, we specifically asked if they were familiar with the operation of these boxes, and were assured they were, when in fact it turned out they were not.

When we got home both litter boxes were jammed up due to being filled with at least twice as much litter as the box is meant to hold. Both boxes have clearly visible 'fill lines' inside, i.e. DO NOT FILL ABOVE THIS LINE. After removing the excess litter we were able to reset one box and it resumed working. The other box had the automatic rake jammed halfway (right it the middle of the box) with a mound of cat litter in front of it that was too heavy for the motor to drive the rake through.

This box would not work even after clearing the excess litter. I had to buy a new litter box ($140) to replace it. What's worse is that for however long the box had been broken, and inaccessible by my cat due to the rake jammed in the middle, my cat had resorted to using the living room to do her business. We came home to a very smelly and dirty house!

When we contacted CC to complain, we were told that the sitter called CC "on the first day" to say that the litter boxes were not working. So basically CC said it was OUR fault that the litter box broke.that WE must have been the ones to overfill the litter box before we left?! Give me a break! I am appalled that: - The sitter lied to us about their familiarity with automatic litter boxes.

These automatic litter boxes have been around for years - how is it that a professional cat sitter service doesn't know how to use them properly? - The sitter lied to CC about the breakage of the litter box - CC chose to believe the sitter and not us about the breakage of the litter box. Whatever happened to "The customer is always right"? - Once the litter box broke and was obviously not usable by my cat, the sitter made no attempt to buy a cheap box in order to give my cat someplace to go, and made no attempt to clean up the mess in the living room left by my cat. - CC decided it would not reimburse us for the litter box that was broken during the time we were paying them to be responsible for caring for our cats, even though they claim to be bonded and insured, so that presumably it wouldn't actually cost them anything to make amends for the mishap.

When I pay someone to look after my cat when I'm gone, I want someone who will take responsibility, and care for my cat and my house as if it were their own. I think that's pretty simple to understand. We definitely didn't get this from Critter Care.

I have now used Critter Care for the past year and I have had only one bad experience. The sitter did not care for my pet for one day. When I informed Critter Care, it was addressed immediately and was given one free pet sitting. Other than that my cat has been well taken care of. When I get home he is happy and not stressed. I have never had trouble scheduling pet sitting and overall this is a great company to take care of pets. Thank goodness for Critter Care because I have peace of mind when I am gone.

I have absolutely no idea why Critter Care would get a bad review. I would also assume they must be bogus. Before I used Critter Care to take care of my cats who both need medication, Ginny came to my apartment and we had a long meeting. Turns out, Ginny is extremely kind, thoughtful and sincere in her love of animals and her responsibility to care for them at work and outside of work. Ginny went above and beyond to take care of my beloved cats.

I also ran into my neighbor who uses Critter Care and he loves them. He has a blind dog that needs special attention like my cats so he was also very concerned who took care of them while he is gone to work during the day. Besides great rates, I would strongly recommend Critter Care for any of your pet needs. If you have any concern, meet Ginny and you will agree that she is an amazing lady whose heart seems entirely dedicated to helping and caring for animals. Thank you Ginny! Carolyn Roman

I am VERY unhappy about this company and wnat to make sure that no one I know uses this company. The first night I used them, things were fine. The second time I used them, I came home to a broken chair and missing food from the fridge but the company promptly replaced the chair and apologized for the food. The last time I used this company (23 days) while I was overseas for work, I came home to find my dog had gained 8 pounds (he only weighs 52 pounds!), there were items missing from my home and they had "forgotten" to dispense all of his medication.

I was VERY VERY disturbed by this and the owner promptly blamed the employee and said it would "never happen again as that person has been fired." I gave them one more chance and had them come for a day visit. I came home to find missing money and property. VERY UNHAPPY!

Zero Stars. I gave Critter Care three (3) opportunities to help me out. The first time, they didn't call me back. When I finally reached them, the woman said that it was the holiday season, that they were very busy, and that they were "closed." Huh? This was a bit odd since like any service, this is the best time to build your client base so why would you close?

I called a second time a few months later. I had to call them back after two days only to finally get a phone message that the two sitters in my area weren't available because they had injuries. The third time was just this past week. I thought I'd give them another opportunity and the benefit of the doubt. I called last weekend, left a message, and have not heard back from them.

On whole, they've lost a lot of future business from me as I travel for work and was looking for a trusted company. From the other reviews about Jennifer -- I think they just lucked out on a good dog sitter that works with this company.

I have to agree that Jennifer from Critter Care is great! My boyfriend and I were nervous about leaving our two cats for a week, especially since the older one has diabetes and needs insulin twice a day. Jennifer took great care of them both and always presented with professionalism and kindness. I also really appreciated that she made herself available for me to check in throughout our trip.

The price of the visits were also very reasonable when you take into consideration that your animal gets to stay in there home and has lots of personal attention. Boarding an animal with diabetes can also cost a small fortune. I would definitely recommend Critter Care!

The star ratings don't tell the whole story. I can't say enough about Jennifer at Critter Care.5 stars for her. Mature, capable, communicative. No, 6 stars. Here's why: My little dog got quite ill when we were away for a weekend. She called us immediately and after talking to her, we came right home. He was admitted to ICU and was very sick.

If she hadn't called us, he might have died. Here's the thing: she had the presence of mind to handle this while her own favorite pet was dying. Really impressive woman. Not crazy about the office, their systems and their customer service. 1 star for the office. Probably would not use the service if Jennifer weren't there. Maybe if they had a sitter as good. But if you're lucky enough to have Jennifer sit for you, your pet is in good hands. So it's only 3 stars because of the office. Not the sitter.

We were thrilled to find Jennifer at Cirtter Care - who took such wonderful care of our little toy poodle whenever we had to be out of town for more than half a day. She was so attentive to every little need. making extra certain she had all directions correctly, knew where food and treats were kept, where walks were taken, which toys were preferred.

She always left detailed notes describing her visits with our little dog. which walks they took - or if the weather was not cooperative what they found to play with inside. Our little dog adored her and we felt very confident that she would be well cared for. We would not hesitate to recommend Jennifer for any "day care."

This is odd. A couple of months ago, I wrote a negative review of this business, which you can read below. In short, my complaint with Critter Care is that my elderly cat became ill while I was gone (vomiting multiple times over multiple days, an obvious indication of a problem), and the pet sitter that Critter Care sent did not inform me of the problem.

On January 24, I received the following message via Yelp from the user "Ginny N": -*- begin quoted material -*- If you had this experience, why didn't you contact their office? I just used the service and everything was great. Makes one wonder if this isn't a made up event. I asked the people at Critter Care about this and they said it never happened. AG Santa Clara -*- end quoted material -*- Then, the next day, on January 25, I received the following message via Yelp from the same user "Ginny N": -*- begin quoted material -*- It has recently come to my attention that you have posted a complaint about Critter Care on this website.

First of all, I would like to know who you are and why it is that you did not phone our office to address this matter. We do not have any workers in the Mountain View area that even have children. Additionally, we collect our fees in advance, so surely if this occurred, I would think you would have requested a refund. We are beginning legal action against Yelp and also anyone else who has been involved in make false statements in a public forum. GInny Critter Care -*- end quoted material -*- It certainly seems odd to receive two different messages from the same person, one claiming to be from someone who has "used the service" and another claiming to be from Critter Care.

Such contact is unprofessional and inappropriate -- just as the pet sitter who came to my home was. If a business owner has a question or concern about a review posted, then it behooves the business owner to mail the reviewer to politely ask for more details about the situation and make an attempt to rectify it. It is certainly inappropriate to lie about simply being a user of the service if you are the owner.

If this person is the owner of Critter Care, then this behaviour simply cements my opinion about their service. If this person isn't the owner, I'm perplexed why they seem to be taking such a personal interest in my review.