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Our Story

The Monster Minders was founded in 2005 in Bella Vista, Philadelphia. We are a husband-and-wife team, backed up by a crew of stellar Minders who service Center City. Prior to settling in Philly in 2005, we traveled the world.  We lived and worked in Europe and New Zealand and saw lots of places in between. But something strange happened while we were traveling. We always found ourselves walking other people’s dogs, for free. If we knew someone had a dog, we'd ask if we could take him/her out for a walk. We had monster friends in England, Honduras, Thailand, and New Zealand. When we got to Philly, we had one of those lightning-bolt moments. “Why not walk dogs here? And why not go big?” So, we made a career of it!

We like to think we’ve assisted our clients with hundreds of thousands of worry-free workdays. (Well, at least the dog walking part of them!) On our way to becoming Philadelphia’s recognized leaders of dog walking, we’ve accomplished & experienced countless amazing things - from the sheer joy of being awarded Philadelphia magazine’s “Best of Philly® (2006, 2009 & 2013) to rehoming fostered kittens and dogs, to starting a 501c3 rescue organization, to hearing clients say, “You guys take all the stress away!”- we know we have the best job in the world. Our promise to you: Stellar, unbeatable service. Service so good you’ll wonder how you ever managed without us in the first place. 

We share our lives with Jax (our loyal-but-not-so-bright-crayon-eating Lab/Collie Mix). We always say, “How would we want someone to care for our monster if we had to leave him in someone else’s hands?” From that perspective, we shape & model our practices to care for our clients’ monsters, just as we care forJax - with our entire heart & soul. Upon asking new Minders to join our team, our top question is, “Would we place our dog's life in their hands?” We are proud to say that we have comprised a core team of dog walking professionals that are worthy of Jax.

Meet the Minders

Meet the Minders

Click on the pics to read more about each Minder!

Carrie Maria

Founder & CEO

Lindsay Maria

Founder & New Client Charmer

The Monster Minders are:

  • Insured, bonded, and background checked

  • Trained employees, not independent contractors

  • Three time "Best of Philly®" winners

  • Urban dog walking experts

  • Reliable and dependable

  • Active in local rescue efforts

 

We're not just dog walkers.

We're The Monster Minders!

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Nikki Rockwell
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Julie Dull
Garvin Kelly
Jon Taylor

Weekend / Assistant Manager

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Alex Smith
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Madison Boyer

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Dena Papi

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McKenna Troast

Shannon  Keane
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RJ Arey

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Isabel Weiss

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Nicolette Santilli

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Emily Pedano

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Jakub Failing

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Patricia Cardoso

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Sara Crosby

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Pamela Bright

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Emilie Merritt

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Tyler Sheehan

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