Fetch! Pet Care

These guys are top notch. I had to come to Chicago and intended to travel (last-​minute) with my dog. My trip was going to require me to be out for 5 – 6 hours while leaving my dog in a hotel by himself — and these guys immediately came to the rescue. After a short phone call they had made arrangements to stay with my dog at the hotel — although my plans changed and in the end their services were not required.
Regardless, I felt like they did such an outstanding job working with me on such an unusual request and made all of the arrangements to make it work for me. They were amazing to have gone outside of normal expectations — simply the best.

We became clients of FETCH at the end of 2011 and have used this pet service about 2 – 3 times a year since. Our last service has resulted in poor customer service by Carolyn, an owner. This experience has not only prompted us to no longer use their services, but to warn others of what is expected of you as a customer.
* You must commit the contract to memory
* You must be able to decipher unexpected overages that appear on your credit card statement, with a «bankcard order confirmation» that will supply you ONLY with the TOTAL.
* If you’d like a breakdown of the different charges that result in that total, also widely known as an ‘invoice’, you will have to request it. And maybe request it again. And again.
* 7÷7÷2012 — Overcharged
* 5÷25÷2014 — Undisclosed fee
* 12÷26+28÷15 — Overcharged and Undisclosed Fee
On 12÷30÷15, I received ‘bankcard order confirmation’ for $ 63 charge that should have been $ 44. I requested an invoice that isn’t receive until 1÷11÷15.
1÷11÷15 Emails
o Carolyn: I know I’m sorry. I haven’t forgotten about you. It was a very small amount and I’ll definitely have an answer for you within 24hrs
o Me: I don’t believe it was a «very small amount». My first inquiry was made ¹²⁄₃₀. Please send an invoice so I can see where the mistake has been made.
o Carolyn: Again, I’m sorry. I’ve had a family member in the hospital and my focus has been split since the new year. You were billed $ 24 per visit, it should have been $ 22 so you were overpaid $ 4 so that’s what the refund will be. I’ll send the incorrect invoice now then I’ll adjust it and you’ll get a correct one.
o Me: Actually, we were charged $ 63, when the charge should have been $ 44.
o Carolyn: The $ 15 charge was for the second consultation with Lea at your new address. Only the first consultation is free.
o Me: That was not discussed. This is the SECOND time we have been charged for something that wasn’t disclosed. Lea has been nothing short of amazing, but the customer service side of your business is less than desirable. Please let me know this will be rectified without any more inconvenience on my end.
o Carolyn: I’m sorry but I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. We try to be as transparent as possible and while some things do slip through the cracks, we don’t maliciously withhold information from our clients. Your signed agreement is attached. It states that First time consultations are otherwise free but any subsequent consultations requested by the client, with their primary sitter may require a $ 15 charge. The $ 4 refund was processed and you should get an email notification letting you know. My understanding is that the funds are deposited within 24−72hrs.
o Me: A previously undisclosed charge was made when we were not notified our credit card on file had expired, and instead of contacting us, we were charged a fee without notification. This current overage was not discussed during any of our conversations about having Lea come out to the house. While it may be in your fine print contract, you can’t honestly expect your customers to commit that information to memory. This is how you reward customer loyalty, in addition to bringing you new clientele? Unfortunate.
o Me again: Also, you raised the charge per day for 2 cats from $ 20 to $ 22, with no notice.
o Carolyn: As for the $ 2 rate increase, you hadn’t used us since August 2014. That rate increase took place over 6 months ago and I informed all of my active clients for the first few months and it’s also on the website and has been since the change. We’re constantly making improvements to keep our clients happy but there’s not much I can do if they don’t read the contract. Since it doesn’t seem like you’re pleased with how we do things I can have Lea make arrangements for you to pick up your keys if you’d like to do that.
(The rate increase was never sent to us. However, I had just received an email request to fill out a survey on 11÷28÷15. So am I on the email list that serves FETCH and not on the email list that serves its customers???)
The tone of my email may seem off-​putting, thereby losing me credibility. However, I wanted to provide an unfiltered view of what it’s like to be a customer of FETCH. If we were using the service 2 – 3 a year, then that means that 30−50% of the time, there was poor quality customer service and to receive statements about your monetary concerns of being overcharged with remarks like, «it was a very small amount» before proof is supplied is belittling and frustrating.
This concludes this review and our relationship with FETCH. If you made it to the end of this ridiculous thing, you deserve a cookie. Since I can’t offer that to you, what I can offer you is an excellent recommendation of another pet-​sitting service called, ROVER-​TIME Dog Walking and Pet Sitting. A company that goes above and beyond for you and your pets. Unfortunately, they are dog-​exclusive or we would use them for our kitties! Check them out, they’re amazing.

I was so nervous at the idea of leaving my new kitten and my senior cat in the hands of strangers for a week, but all of our usual catsitting friends were unavailable and we were going away for the holidays. That’s when we met Fetch! and more specifically, Maria. She sat down with us and got all the details of our kitties’ needs and our habits.
While we were away, Maria took great care of us and my cat babies. She sent funny texts with pictures letting me know what was going on at home and reassuring me that both cats were dong okay. I saw from the pics that my cats were eating and playing and looked happy and that made me happy and able to enjoy my holidays. I definitely will be contacting Fetch! again and trusting them with my precious kitties.
p. s. I think my cats miss Maria! Every time the door opens they run over and when they see it’s not her, they walk away.

I’ve never left a pet-​sitting service in charge of my furry baby before, so I was a little nervous about hiring someone to watch my cat all week while I was on vacation. Fetch came to my house for a complimentary consultation to meet me and my kitty and go over her care.
«Walk me through Tabby’s routine,» the sitter says to me first. Ok, well, from about 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., she lays on her lazy butt; from then until about 10 p.m., she likes to run underfoot begging for food and/​or sitting on you and anything you need to pay attention to. Once the humans go to bed, she practices her nightly top-​speed sprints and yowls out the window at strays until Mom yells — lather, rinse, repeat. In other words, she’s a cat.
Luckily she has no special routines or meds, and is actually a pretty friendly little beast, so minimal care not to kill her was really all that was needed. The sitter and I went over her hiding spots, where her food, litter, treats, etc are kept, where in the house she isn’t allowed, what she likes to play with, emergency info, and all sorts of details that would make you think I was leaving a newborn for the first time. I also got a folder full of information about Fetch, how to contact the sitter or office if I needed, and copies of their licenses and insurances. They’re very thorough. They were also one of the better priced services I looked into, and also offered the option to bring in mail or water household plants in addition to checking on your pet.
I received a daily text update from the sitter, and photos when the little gremlin would stay still for a second, and came home to a live, happy kitty. We also got a daily home and pet report card written to let us know what had been done each day (litter scooped, bowl washed out/​refilled, etc) and how Tabby had behaved. Looks like they were pretty fond of each other by the end of the week! In the end, I’m glad I paid a professional to have peace of mind knowing my pet is taken care of exactly as I would and isn’t just home lonely all the time. I would absolutely use Fetch again when the need arises.

We are HUGE Fetch fans.
They are so professional and a pleasure to deal with… and LEA (our cat sitter for many years now) has consistently exceeded our expectations. She loves our cats almost as much as we do!
Last week while we were away our cat scratched his face, and Lea sprang into action (administering first aid, putting on the pesky e-​collar, even washing our bedding that had a bit of our kitty’s blood on it). Fetch has become a trusted part of our family– something we never expected from a petsitting service.
110% recommendation!

These guys are great ! I got stranded in St. Louis on business and they walked my dogs twice on short notice. No questions asked. You can absolutely count on fetch to make your pets a priority ! Thank you fetch.

The Fetch Pet Care Chicago team is outstanding!
As a business owner in the pet industry who specializes in referring outstanding pet sitters, dog walkers and various other pet services, I have to say Carolyn and Greg and their entire team at Fetch are truly one of the best businesses around. I have referred Fetch countless times to numerous clients and they have always been very satisfied with the communcation, professionalism and level of service provided.
I screen all referrals very carefully to ensure that clients are getting the best possible service provider, and then I personally put my business name on the line referring these people.
Fetch Pet Care Chicago does a great job and I would definitely recommend using them!

We have had two different sitters from Fetch for our cat and both have been great. Easy to deal with, trustworthy, and good at providing daily updates regarding the cat’s activities.

I have been using Fetch for over two years. I have had three different providers — all of whom have been great. The service is easy to setup, fast and very responsive with questions. Eric, our current sitter, is fantastic with sending us daily text messages with detailed reports on how the cats are doing. I am very appreciative of having a service we can trust.

My boyfriend and I chose to use Fetch!‘s services to watch our 2 cats over the holiday, and we could not have been more satisfied. Within 24 hours, we were contacted by our assigned cat sitter, Laura. The next day, she came over for a free consultation to meet the cats, get the routine down, exchange digits, etc. The cats were immediately drawn to her, and we knew right away they would be in great hands.
It’s always hard to leave your pets with a total stranger, as well as give them the keys to you home; but, with Laura there were no hesitations. She came twice a day (because these guys are just way too high maintenance for cats), fed and played with them, as well as checked their litter box. Every visit we got updates from her regarding how they were doing, along with pictures that she took from her phone during each visit.
There is no doubt that we will be asking Laura to come back next time we go out of town!

My go-​to cat sitters — they’re so great I don’t even bother asking friends to watch my cat anymore.
They send texts/​photos to update you on how your pet is doing while you are away and even leave a little report card on the visit for you on your return.
Mr. Cat got all A’s so I may be biased but Fetch! is still great.

We had to find a last minute pet sitter because our original sitter fell through, and were calling frantically the day before we left on our week long trip. Fetch! was wonderful! Carolyn was totally friendly and helpful, making sure the contract fit our needs.
Our actual sitter was Amanda. She was awesome! She was friendly, works for a vet’s office (so we felt totally safe leaving our cat’s in her care), and was great with our cats who can be skittish. She even sent daily texts to keep us updated, and even a photo!
All in all, we will use Fetch! next time we go out of town for sure!

We used Fetch! this past weekend for a cat sitter as one of our cats is on daily antibiotics and needed to get the medicine everyday while we were gone.
They do an initial meeting with you where they explain their services. It’s very informative and a good chance to introduce your pet and explain where things are and give them a key. They are very professional and give you a folder with their insurance info, contact, pet sitter membership, etc.
Ciel was our cat sitter and she was VERY good. She texted me to let me know how the visits went, and went above and beyond and emailed a video from her phone of our kitten playing with her shadow. The cats were not nearly as needy when we got home and they had plenty of food and the litter was cleaned. I was wary to use a larger franchise type company at the beginning but have nothing but good things to say!

Still consistantly awesome service from Carolyn and Jan. I am so happy to have such wonderful and attentive service for my girl. I never worry about whether someone showed up or not or if my dog is being treated well. Everything from day one has been great with Fetch. I am really glad to have found them!

So my wee dog Kirby is sweet as pie but… he can be a handful. He’s a pound puppy with some anxiety issues, and can be a majorly clingy little turd. It goes without saying that taking him to a kennel when I go out of town has been a traumatic experience for him and usually involves him pooing his dog crate multiple times out of sheer nervousness. Yeah, the folks at the kennel LOVED him.
Thank jeebuz that Fetch offers an overnight house/​pet sitting service. The little dog was able to hang out during the day in his usual surroundings, and a new friend came to play at night! Cathy, the sitter, was great and Carolyn made the whole thing so so easy. I went on my trip completely at ease (rather than wondering how many times the dog was going to literally be losing his shit) and came home to a happy and calm dog. I will most def. be using Fetch the next time I’m away.

Living off unemployment is never ideal-​leo, especially when you have human and feline chilun’ to consider during the holiday season.
My darling diabetic Chartreux, Snugs, is 11+ years young and in need of spaced feedings to keep her blood sugar steady with the aid of her holistic meds and wet feedings.
@ $ 16/​visit in-​home sitter care seemed out of reach.
Pet boarding is more cost effective and fantastic for special needs pets if you are lucky enough to book holiday lodging in advance with pet boarders garnering favorable reviews for high vibe facilities.
I, alas, was out of luck as every feline boarder in town was booked by Thanksgiving (ever notice the lack of feline specialty stores and care in this town? and I thought LA was biased…).
I decided a week of starvation after a gluttonous Texan-​sized holiday with my family wasn’t really much of a financial sacrifice after all —
FYI there is a holiday surcharge of $ 10 (an understandable charge as this fee goes directly to the sitter) for Christmas Eve & Day visitation.
Thanks to Carolyn Fetch! Pet Care came to my last-​minute rescue.
She paired me with lovely Leah less than two days prior to my departure.
Leah came to our apartment to discuss care and we ended up discussing our mutual respect for holistic pet care for almost an hour!
Leah is super knowledgeable about special needs animals having recently lost her sweet canine to some serious health issues in addition to volunteering with PAWS Chicago at the Lurie Family Spay/​Neuter Clinic on W. 26^th St (which btw is NOT an easy thing to do as this is the facility that receives animals that have been in some pretty devastating situations and is desperately understaffed and in need of as many volunteers as it can get).
My sterling silver Chartreux is a card carrying member of a notoriously loyal, highly-​autistic breed of felines, so I wasn’t counting on her to make a special appearance for Leah during her visits.
To my surprise Snugs greeted Leah at the door and even kissed her on the nose towards one of the last visits. And I KNOW Leah wasn’t BSing as Snugs has very specific mannerisms that only a member of the inner circle would be aware of — and Leah was obviously inducted.
I was incredibly pleased with the quality of care. After 6 days of vacation my baby didn’t punish me for my absence as she’s done in the past and in fact acted as if I’d never left.
Many kisses to Leah and Fetch!

I cannot say enough good things about Fetch! I typically board our dogs at the PetsHotel, but since my husband and I were going away for a while we wanted to ensure that our dogs were comfortable the entire time.
Carolyn is so great to work with and very on top of scheduling, and our sitter, Brandi, was wonderful with the dogs — and taking care of our place. By the time we had gotten back from vacation I could tell that our dogs really grew a liking to her because they were ecstatic when she came to walk them. We’ll DEFINITELY be working with FETCH again!

I just started using Fetch Pet Care and so far I’m very impressed.
From my initial inquiry to daily walks, it’s been smooth sailing.
John, who was assigned to be my dog walker, showed up for my initial consultation and to get some info on Elvis’s temperament and routine prior to beginning his walks.
Elvis, who loves women, but isn’t so fond of men, took to John immediately, which I thought was a very good sign. I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
My only motherly wishes were that a light be left on for Elvis after John leaves since it gets dark so early now, and also to wipe his paws after walks so the salt doesn’t irritate them. What can I say? He’s a tenderfoot.
John always remembers the little things and I trust him implicitly. The daily logs he leaves always make me smile. «Elvis chased squirrels,» or «Elvis loves to bring me his stuffed alligator.» I will spare you the details of the other info he leaves on the daily log, but I’m sure you get the idea.
I plan on adopting another dog in the spring to keep Elvis company and I look forward to having John walk him/​her too.

Continuing absolutely fantastic service, one visit after another! We are happy to report another great sitting experience for our boy Rocco! Two out of the last three weekends we’ve needed Fetch to look after Roc. Both of these experiences were top notch, same as the first.
Christina, seems to genuinely care about Rocco. She sends us picture text during each visit to let us know he’s getting along just fine. It’s so comforting to receive these messages.
We always come home to a very happy pup and a very informative and humorous report card! Keep up the great work gang!

I really love Fetch! The fact that the communication was wonderful, and that my dog walker was extremely reliable, I’d recommend them to anyone looking for a dog walker!
I had someone (Jan, who’s great!) come to the house twice a week to let Ryno and Payton out during the day when I knew I’d be home a little later than usual. Once baseball starts up, I know that Jan will be around more often! :-)
I also love that I can call last minute (when I think there’s gonna be lots of rain, but it doesn’t rain at all) and Carolyn and team don’t mind at all! That makes my life less stressful!
Highly recommended!

We recently used Fetch! for our cats while in Europe for 10 days and couldn’t have been happier with their service! John was incredible and I knew things would be fabulous when our severely anti-​social cat when right up to him and let him pet her… Willow doesn’t let anyone, but me, touch her… EVER. He did a spectacular job and we loved the visit report that was left for us!
Also, we had a little issue with our keys, we don’t have an extra set and Carolyn and John were very wonderful and accommodating, we really appreciated them going above and beyond on getting our keys back to us.
Without a doubt, we will use Fetch! again! Very professional, very nice and very very reasonably priced! I had no idea in-​home cat-​care really could be this easy and professional!!!