I'm still trying to process the chaos that ensued when I hired Aunt Val's Pet Pals to take care of my fur babies while I was away. As a responsible and anxious pet owner, I thought I'd done my due diligence in researching and selecting a trustworthy pet sitting service. Boy, was I wrong. The initial meet-and-greet with Aunt Val seemed pleasant enough, but it all went downhill from there. She seemed nice, I'll give her that, but nice doesn't cut it when it comes to the care and well-being of my pets. The first red flag was when I received a cryptic text from Aunt Val stating that my cat, Mr. Whiskers, was 'being difficult.' Difficult? What does that even mean? I asked her to elaborate, but she just brushed it off, saying he was 'fine' and that I was 'overreacting.' Overreacting? This is my child we're talking about! I demanded that she send me photos of Mr. Whiskers, and what I got were blurry, poorly lit pictures of my cat looking like he'd just been put through a war. I was horrified. The final straw was when I came home to find that my dog, Barkley, had somehow managed to get his paws on an entire bag of flour, which was now covering every inch of my kitchen. I mean, how do you even let that happen? The place was a disaster, and my poor babies were stressed out. Needless to say, I will never be using Aunt Val's Pet Pals again, and I would advise anyone who cares about their pets to steer clear of this service. The base rate of $25 for a 20-30 minute drop-in visit may seem reasonable, but trust me, it's not worth the headache. Save your sanity and your pets' well-being by choosing a different pet sitting service. One that actually cares.