Fancy Paws

I can’t say enough good things about the Fancy Paws team. We have used them for several years and they are always prompt, flexible with our schedule and extremely responsive. They seem to genuinely care for our dog, who is getting older and has had some health problems. They report any concerns and take measure to adapt to his needs (e.g., shorter walks with some playtime at home, care going up and down stairs, etc.).

Fancy Paws has walked our dog now for 5!!! years. They have been always been prompt and conscientious, and have been very flexible with scheduling around our needs. They have watched our dog both at our apartment and at their home, and we always return to a happy and relaxed dog. Our dog has bonded with her walker (Andy), and also with Chris and Agnes who watch her and send us text message/​picture updates. The company employs amazing, caring, reliable people.

We have used Fancy Paws as cat sitters for a little over a year. They are absolutely wonderful! Agnes responds to our emails promptly, always finds time to check on our kitties (even if it’s a last minute request!), and sends photo updates after every visit. She also gives one of our kitties his topical medication at each visit at no additional charge. Most importantly, our kitties are always healthy and happy when we return home.
We definitely recommend Fancy Paws!

Excellent excellent service. Our dog loves each of the dog walkers (we have had three, one change because we moved across the city and one change because the dog walker got into the police academy). Fancy Paws always sends us updates and goes out of their way to let us know if there have been any accidents or any behavioral issues. They extremely responsive by email. I have never waited more than a few hours for a response and usually receive one within the hour. Great service, great people, and a great price.

This is an addendum to my previous review because shout out to the real MVPs at Fancy Paws! Poor little Millie wasn’t feeling too great today and pooped (the very runny kind) her crate, which she hadn’t done since I first brought her home 4 months ago. Chris promptly texted me what had happened and told me they were staying a little longer just to clean up. If this doesn’t show you how caring and wonderful these people are, I don’t know what will! I asked if they had a cleaning fee, to which they answered no that they didn’t mind. Because of her condition, I asked to add two more puppy walks last minute for tomorrow, and they gladly agreed.
(In case you’re wondering, poor little Millie was found with giardia — a parasite — in her system, so her tummy wasn’t feeling great at all. Giardia is found in the environment and can be contracted through daily puppy activities like licking puddles and eating sticks.)
Besides today’s incident, Millie has not had an accident in her crate since walking with Fancy Paws. She is at almost two months of completely no accidents in the house (knock on wood).
It was a tough decision getting a puppy with a full-​time job, but Fancy Paws has done a wonderful job with giving Millie the attention she deserves. I’ve been told by my roommate that Millie absolutely adores her walkers. I highly recommend them and I cannot say enough good things.

I can’t imagine another pet service could exist that would rival «Fancy Paws». Chris, Andy and Agnes have taken a huge weight off of our shoulders each and every time that we have had to go out of town since 2013.
We have a senior cat that requires special care/​instructions and they have continually exceeded our expectations. Every time we leave we know that Pearl is in great hands. They have often taken the duties on extremely short notice and we are forever grateful for their amazing service. Do not hesitate to contact them for any pet services as they are your best choice, hands down!
–Shane and Jacquie

We’ve hired Fancy Paws to handle our dog walks ever since our dog was a puppy in 2012. We started with the puppy package and moved onto daily walks. Over the years, as our schedules fluctuated, Fancy Paws was always able to be flexible to accommodate our needs. They are completely reliable and very communicative if our dog seemed «off» or behaved differently from normal. Fancy Paws is a solid, reliable company and I highly recommend them to anyone who needs a little extra help with their furry family member!

Highly recommend! Responsive! Caring! Understanding and great communication with these guys. My pup Gretchen is happier than ever since Andy has been walking her. Very reasonable rates too. I have a busy and sometimes last minute type of schedule. Fancy Paws is extremely helpful when I need a last minute walk. My pup and I are extremely pleased!!!

Chris and Agnes are the best at what they do. My schedule is highly variable and sometimes unpredictable, but these guys find a way to accommodate me every week.
After every walk, they let me know how my dog was whenever they talk him out. I never have to worry about my dog when I’m away at work for the day — which makes life a lot easier for me.
I really appreciate the great work that Chris and Agnes do and I would recommend them to anyone in the area.

I’m very happy with Fancy Paws, and would definitely recommend them! I’ve hired them to come visit my cat twice now, when I was out of town. I feel that the price is good, they respond quickly when I’ve contacted them, and everything looked fine at my apartment when I got home. (My cat seemed happy but really, how can you tell with a cat). It’s a little unnerving to hand your keys to a stranger from the internet and ask them to come to your house when you’re not there, but so far Fancy Paws has been trustworthy and has done a great job.

Fancy paws is fantastic! My sister and I have been using fancy paws for years. My dogs are just as excited to see Chris or James as they are when I come home. Chris and Agnes are wonderful to work with and I recommend them 100%. I have given their name to many people and everyone has been just as happy with them!

Chris and Anges are great business owners!
My husband and I went to Europe for a week. We hired Fancy Paws to come to our house, play with our baby (yorkie), and clean his messes.
They emailed us everyday with a picture to give us a piece of mind while we were away from our baby.
We will be using their services anytime we decide to take a vacation!

Chris and Agnes are running a top notch establishment. I second the reviewers that would like to give them more than 5 stars. We’ve been with FP for five years and they’re incredibly professional, kind and flexible. They’re extremely passionate about customer service and the only time we had an issue Chris corrected the situation like an absolute professional, making it clear to me that they won’t tolerate anything less than the very best.
We moved neighborhoods and have switched walkers several times; all but one were/​are excellent. Ironically, the one less-​than-​ideal walker we had turned into one of the better experiences based on the way it was resolved/​handled. Our schedule changes randomly and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the flexibility. I text Chris, he’s quick to say absolutely no problem, and I’m left with nothing to worry about.
While they’re all incredibly kind to my wife and I — they’re wonderful with my puppy. Thanks all. Keep up the fine work.

Fancy Paws is the best! My husband and I hemmed and hawed over what dog walking company to select when we were about to come home with a new puppy, and after two rave reviews from co-​workers who worked with Fancy Paws, we decided to give them a try.
Chris has been our dog walker since day 1 and he is absolutely the best. Our puppy, who is shy around others, opened up to him immediately when he came to our home to meet her before their first walk. I’m sure we’re one of their more annoying clients, as our schedules and dog walking needs change constantly, but Chris has been super flexible and nice about any request we’ve had. Even last minute changes, random evening walk requests and instructions/​walking preferences have been no problem for him.
In the first month or so that he was walking our puppy, he would send us texts after visiting her reassuring us that she was doing okay or letting us know if she cried when he left, which was great for us as new ‘parents’ who were worrying about our little one. Now that she’s bigger and well-​adjusted, he leaves a note each day with a little ‘report card’ of any details from their visit.
In addition to everything else mentioned above, their prices are pretty affordable compared to other companies, which was important to us. They also have the ability to automatically send payments to your card (or probably bank account too?) bi-​weekly based on your walks from that period which makes payments super easy.
All in all, I have only positive things to say — they are great and I would recommend them to anyone!

If I could give these guys 10 stars — it wouldn’t be enough. They are fantastic! My dog is blind and my travel schedule is insane, however, they have ALWAYS come through and been there, even when I have to call last minute.
I feel secure (I am not easy to please) and I feel my pup is happy, which is the most important.
I have been using them for about 6 months so far. Highly recommend!

We have been using Fancy Paws for puppy walking and highly recommend them. I found them on Unilocal and had Chris come over to meet our puppy Riley. Right away we could tell Chris was a nice guy and he has exceeded our expectations.
Fancy Paws makes it easy to cancel/​schedule walks, is affordable, and very pleasant.

I have been using Fancy Paws for about 3 – 4 months now, and its been a great experience! Chris and Agnes are very friendly and accommodating to last minute schedule changes. The rate is the best I have found in my area (Lakeshore East), and I trust the walkers with my pup. I would recommend for sure.

Chris is AMAZING! He has been walking our wheaten terrier, Charlie, for about a year, and my wife and I couldn’t be happier with the service. Chris comes daily to take our little man for a 25 min. stroll around the neighborhood. He’s consistently here within the same window of time every day. Typically around 1pm or 1:30. He’ll re-​fill his water dish too as needed without me having to mention it. He always leaves a note detailing Charlie’s «business» and whether he got to socialize with another dog that he occasionally pairs our pup up with. He also goes out of his way to text me with any updates too.
We both work chaotic hours, and he has been nothing but flexible when we ask for an additional evening walk at the last minute or if we cancel the night before.
He is always warm, upbeat and smiling — the kind of person you feel comfortable letting into your house when you’re not home. Charlie loves him too, which I’ve seen firsthand on days when I’m unexpectedly working from home and get to see the two of them interact.
Their rates are incredibly competitive too. New clients receive a special intro rate of $ 10/​walk for the first couple months and then it only increases to $ 12. If you’ve done any research you’ll know that $ 12 is on the low to medium end of the scale for a 25 min. dog walk in the city. The peace of mind, however, of working with someone as trustworthy, responsive and friendly as Chris is priceless.

Fancy Paws goes above and beyond to make sure your pet is taken care of!
I had an emergency hospital visit where I couldn’t get home to take care of my cat, so I called Agnes and Chris and they assured me they would take care of him that day! You don’t get service like that from many places in the city. They’ll do whatever needs to be done in order to ensure your pet (s), are taken care of.
They’re licensed and insured, extremely trustworthy, and best of all, my cat loves Chris.
If you’re considering anyone else, STOP, because these are the people you want to trust your pets with.

Fancy Paws was recommended to is by another pet sitting service located in the Western ‘burbs. We needed someone to com take care of our 2 very social cats while we were away on our honeymoon for 8 days.
We called them about 1 week before we were leaving. My husband contacted them by phone and got a return call immediately. Chris came to our house to meet our cats and for us to show him the ropes. Our kitties are pretty low maintenance, but one of them has peculiar eating habits, as in she scarfs everything at once and barfs it up. SAD. So we have to feed her a little but at a time, which takes about 15 minutes total.
Chris was very kind and you could tell he really loved animals. We had no worries about our cats being visited by Chris once a day for the time we were gone.
The reason for only four stars is that we had 6 cans of wet food out, and we explained they get about 1 – 2 tablespoons a day. When we returned only one can was left… so our kitties were VERY well fed.