Chicago Dog Walking

Dorothy said it best, there really is no place like home…

While you’re going to provide the absolute best care and home for your dog, my intention is that I can be a close second!

If you live on the southwest side of River North in Chicago I’m willing to bet you might already know me. You might not know me persay, but you probably have seen my dog Mugsy and thereby indirectly know me (he was the important one, afterall!). Big, older black pup with a red backpack, happy heart and an insatiable appetite for cookies, really couldn’t miss us. We moved slow, we stopped to smell the flowers, you might’ve even stopped to say hello.

Sadly, Mugsy has passed on (read below for the whole story) and I’ve found myself with an abundance of time and love to give. If you’re within a few blocks of Hubbard St. and Kingsbury St. in River North and you’re looking for someone to walk your pup (or a backup in case your regular walker isn’t available) or to have a slumber paw-ty (dog sit) while you’re away from home or out of town, I might just be your person. Please note that dog sitting requests are open to those outside the above service range!

As a sidebar – I also offer other dog-related services such as picking up supplies like food and transporting your BFF from point A to point B (like to/from daycare). Pricing varies by request and distance, please fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch to learn more! If you aren’t sure if I’d be open/available to do something, definitely still ask =)

The need-to-know details!

• Pricing:
  • Walks are $1 per minute with a minimum of 15 minutes.
  • Dog-sitting and slumber paw-ty overnight stays are full service at $100-$150 per day/night (see below for price differentiation and what “full service” means!).
    • Normal rates are $100 per day/night if staying by me or if they stay at home and I come to them throughout the day
    • Holiday and holiday weekend rates are $150 per day/night
      • I will be unavailable for walking and sitting during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays (roughly Tuesday through Friday for Thanksgiving week, and December 20-26th) as I will be away from home with family
    • Please note these prices are for walking/feeding/loving on your pup as outlined in the “why dog sitting with me is different” section. If there are additional requests (such as needing vehicle transportation or other requests outside the home), there will be an additional cost associated. Pricing will vary by request and will be communicated on a case by case basis.
• Duration:
  • Walks: Walk duration is your choice – if you need a quick 15min potty walk, I can do that. If you’d like more of a 60min tour de Chicago, I can also do that. If you’re looking for your BFF to be picked up and dropped off (ex. picked up from daycare and dropped off at home) I can also do that with a 15min minimum.
• Payment: Payment via Venmo or cash is preferred.
• Scheduling: In general, the more notice I can have the better, but same day requests can potentially be accommodated. We can schedule as needed, or do something more consistently (ex. daily 30min walks Monday through Friday). This is all arranged via direct texting.
• Rescheduling/Cancellations: Life changes and I completely get it, I just ask that if you need to cancel or reschedule with me that you do so ASAP. Because travel and back-to-the-office are becoming a thing again, there’s a good possibility the dates/times you reserved me were also requested by someone else after you. Your kindness in giving me as much notice as possible frees up the space to help another dog-parent! In addition, I also have another business as a life coach and am often scheduling professional and personal tasks around the time I’m scheduled with dogs, so the more notice I have of reschedules/cancellations the better! Thank you in advance!
• Breeds and sizes: All breeds, ages, sizes and needs welcome!
• Backup Walkers/Sitters: I love to think I’m invincible, but sometimes I do get unexpectedly ill or have an emergency that would cause me to cancel your service, perhaps the same day with very short notice. To save any stress, I always recommend having an “in case of an emergency” backup walker or sitter in case those instances should arise!
• Dog park and off leash walks disclaimer: I understand this might be a dealbreaker for some, but I don’t do dog parks and will not take your dog into one. I don’t trust them – moreso, I don’t trust the other owners and dogs within the dog park. It’s like the wild west in there and while I totally get that it’s amazing exercise and socialization under the right circumstances, my highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of your dog. You know your dog the best, you know their signals, you know which dogs they do great with and which ones they don’t, you know when they’re uncomfortable/about to assert boundaries, etc. I don’t. The same goes for any off-leash areas. With me, your dog will be on a leash on a solo walk (unless you have more than one dog in your home that walk together). The last thing I want to do is call you to say “hey something happened and you need to get home right now” or “we’re on our way to the emergency vet.” Again, I completely understand if it’s a dealbreaker on your end, but it’s just a risk I’m not willing to take. Thank you for understanding!

Why dog-sitting with me is different

Let’s face it, while going out or out of town can be amazing, the thought of leaving your best friend behind can be completely stressful. You just never know what happens in boarding facilities, even with the best reviews and intentions. Will they give your pet enough attention? How stressed out will Fido be in a kennel if that’s not what he’s use to at home? Tons of questions and concerns run through your mind and it can suck the joy right out of your trip, especially if you’ll spend a good chunk of your time away worried about what’s happening back at home.

No one is going to love your pet as well or as much as you do, but my intention is that I can come in at a close second. I want you to enjoy your time away and trust that all is well back at home.

I hold your trust in me to care for your dog with the highest regard. With me, your best friend gets treated like my best friend. My intention is to make their time with me as fun as possible, like going on a dog vacation! We go for the adventures, we meet the people, we smell the smells (all of them), we do our business and then we come home for a long nap before we do it all again.

Please note: if you need someone to stay with your pet 24/7 or “move in” to your home while you’re gone or if your dog is reactive to noise (like barks everytime they hear something), I’m not your person. I can absolutely recommend others though! Due to the many facets of my business, living situation and health considerations, I’m unable to accommodate these types of circumstances, my apologies!

When your BFF is with me, you can expect:

• 4 walks per day
  • 1 quick around the block potty break first thing in the morning
  • 2 longer adventure walks throughout the day (usually about 30min depending on your pup!)
  • 1 quick around the block potty break right before bed
• Feedings and walks based on your regular schedule
• Loads of love, attention and playtime in the home
• Photos of their cuteness and adventures with updates on how they’re doing texted to you throughout their stay with me
• Pups that stay with me longer than 3 days get to go on a Petco adventure to pick out a new toy/treat! (owner approved, of course)
• Your choice of your pup spending their time at home or by me ($100 per day/night, holidays are $150 per day/night)
  • If they’re by me, rest assured he/she will be the only dog here. Unless otherwise instructed by you, they’ll have free reign of my apartment – the bed, couch, floors, carpet, everything is fair game. Wherever they’re comfortable is great by me!
  • If they stay in their own home, everything above still happens! I’ll come to your home at least 4 times per day for walks, feedings and playtime! While they’ll do great staying by me, in my experience I’ve actually found that dogs feel more comfortable in their familiar environments and prefer staying/sleeping at home and being walked, played with and checked in on regularly.
  • As mentioned above, the rates are all inclusive for feedings/walking/love – any additional requests for time or transportation outside the home will have an extra fee associated and will be discussed case by case
• On the last day, your pup will have been walked and fed (if applicable given the timing) shortly before your arrival home so you can unload and enjoy each other rather than rushing right into caring for them as soon as you walk in the door.

Above all, my joy is really to make their time with me the most stress-free and enjoyable as possible, like a dog vacation!

The longform version of how M&M came to be… (Read more)

Dogs are my kind of humans. If there’s a crowd of people and 1 dog, I’m the person that pays no mind to the people and goes straight for the dog.

Hello, I’m Misty. Nice to meet you!

To give you a small snippet of my background and why I can be trusted with your best friend, I want to introduce you to my best friend.

This is Mugsy. Mugsy was my 13 year old pittie/lab mix. Everyone in River North knew us, and mostly everyone stopped for him. Mugsy was a gentle giant, because of his age and slower pace, but also because he just loved adventures. He loved being outside, he loved his daily trips to Petco, he loved food and cookies of all varieties. He was just a happy boy, and I loved doing everything in my power to make sure he stayed as happy as possible.

He was more than my best friend, he was my constant companion, my adventure buddy, my people magnet, my Netflix and chill, my protector, my boss – he was “the guy” in my life.

Mugsy also had been diagnosed with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma in December of 2020. Through the love of so many people – including a family friend who has a small raw dog food company who handmade his food (ask me for the info if you need it, she’s amazing), an integrative medicine vet who had him on herbal protocols versus traditional chemotherapy (again, ask for the referral – she’s incredible) and a whole lot of TLC and love from all walks of life, Mugsy far outlived his life expectancy.

You’re never ready to lose your best friend, and even though I miss him every day, I’m grateful for the extended time with him I didn’t think we were going to get. With his diagnosis, I was prepared for him to not live through the summer of 2021, and he did. Then I wasn’t sure he’d make it through the fall, and he did. Then the winter. Then the spring of 2022 came and things shifted. Even though Mugsy was preparing me for life without him, we still treated every day as the best day ever just in case it was his last, just like we had been doing for months and months prior.

He was my highest priority and I was happy to be at his disposal. Whatever he needed, whenever he needed it. It was my joy to do for him, just as dogs always do for us. Mugsy was one of the most constant energies in my life and had been with me through the worst periods of my life including, the death of my mother, a divorce, career transitions, a home break in, losing his fur-sister to cancer, a move from the country to the city (3 moves in less than a year to be exact) and countless other things. Through it all, there he was – the happiest boy ready for the next adventure.

After his passing in April 2022, my whole world flipped upside down. My centrifugal force was gone. My structure was missing. A huge part of my life that (literally) made me wake up and get out of bed in the morning was gone. His spirit was ever present, and the lessons I learned always there, but as they tend to do, Mugsy took so much of my heart with him.

In the weeks that followed Mugsy’s passing I barely left my apartment. I work from home, and except for the occasional errand, I didn’t have a reason to leave. Grief played a huge part of that, yes, but it was also not having a REASON to leave. There’s something about having the structure of your day needing you to do this or that. Mugsy gave me that structure, and I found myself being far more attentive, productive and open because of it. Without having to care for him, I felt reclusive and shut down.

I now found myself with an abundance of once sparse resources, like time and energy, and a deep longing to get back outside to play and see all our friends. Mugsy would’ve wanted it that way. And so, as it tends to go, M&M’s (Misty & Mugsy’s) Doggie Adventures was born to fill that hole. So many people helped me love Mugsy while he was alive, especially since moving to Chicago, and I’d love to help you do the same with your furbaby.

If you’re saying, “This all sounds wonderful, how do we get this party started?!” I’m so glad you asked =)

I’m excited that you’re excited! Step 1 is to fill out the form below. From there, we’ll schedule a meet and greet so you and your pup can vibe-check me and everyone can make sure it’s a great fit! From there, there’s a simple form to fill out where you’ll tell me alllllll about your pup – everything from their daily habits, to how to they do with people and animals, where they like to sleep at night and so much more. This helps me be organized and minimize any questions to you when I’m with your pup! From there, we party on Wayne =)

I’m excited to meet you and your BFF!!