The High Park Pet Care story began with a love of animals and has evolved naturally from there.
My name is Dawn, and I’ve been surrounded by animals for as long as I can remember. I grew up on a hobby farm in Grey County where caring for animals wasn’t something we did occasionally—it was simply part of everyday life. Over the years my family cared for pigs, chickens, horses, dogs, cats, hamsters, and even a cockatoo. Looking back, I realize those experiences taught me that every animal has its own personality, its own needs, and its own way of communicating.
In 2014, I began walking a few neighbourhood dogs and caring for a neighbour’s cats while they travelled. It wasn’t part of a grand business plan. I simply loved spending time with these wonderful animals and getting to know each one’s unique personality.
What surprised me most wasn’t how much I enjoyed caring for pets—it was how rewarding it was to build relationships with both the animals and their people.
From the very beginning, my first priority has always been the well-being of every cat and dog entrusted to my care. Making sure their families feel informed, reassured, and confident while they’re away has always been a very close second.
As word spread throughout the neighbourhood, more and more people asked whether I could care for their pets as well. Before long, it became clear that I couldn’t do it alone.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of welcoming some truly wonderful animal lovers to the High Park Pet Care team. Every person who joins us is carefully selected, not only because they genuinely love animals, but because they are dependable, compassionate, excellent communicators, and people of unquestionable integrity. Caring for someone’s beloved pet—and being trusted with the keys to their home—is a responsibility we never take lightly.
When clients invite High Park Pet Care into their lives, they’re placing an enormous amount of trust in us. We believe that trust should be earned through reliability, honesty, kindness, and consistently exceptional care.
The heartfelt reviews we’ve received over the years, along with the many referrals from happy clients, have allowed High Park Pet Care to grow almost entirely through word of mouth. We are deeply grateful for that trust, and we work every day to continue earning it.
As High Park Pet Care has grown, we’ve deliberately preserved our personal approach. It starts with an in-person, complimentary meet and greet, giving clients and their pets an opportunity to get to know us before care begins. From there, familiarity and trust can develop naturally over time.
We aren’t interested in simply filling a schedule with as many visits and walks as possible. Good pet care depends on knowing the animals, understanding their routines and personalities, and building trust with the people who care about them.
That means consistency matters. Wherever possible, our clients and their pets are cared for by the same familiar pet care professional, rather than seeing an ever-changing rotation of unfamiliar faces. It also means communication matters. Whether we’re providing regular dog walks or caring for a cat while their family is away, clients should know how their pet is doing and feel confident that someone dependable is looking after them.
We’ve also chosen to remain local. High Park Pet Care is focused on Toronto’s west end, allowing us to build a team that knows the neighbourhoods we serve and to maintain the kind of personal relationships on which the business was built.
Today, High Park Pet Care provides professional cat sitting and dog walking throughout Toronto’s west end, while remaining rooted in the same neighbourhoods where it began.
The business has grown, but the principle behind it hasn’t changed: know the animals in our care, understand what they need, communicate well with their people, and be someone they can depend on.
Professional Pet Care. Personal Peace of Mind.