Ronnie & Chris
Welcome to My Favorite Pet Sitter! I’m Chris, and in September 2003 I turned my passion for taking care of animals into a full-time, full-service business. I began My Favorite Pet Sitter a year after moving to Mar Vista from Chicago, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from DePaul University. Originally from Southern Indiana, I wasn’t allowed to have any pets when I was young but finally received the opportunity to raise a puppy when I was a teenager. From then on, I have had either a cat or a dog in my life.

Ronnie joined me in the business in March 2008 after spending over 20 years working in the high-end appliance, kitchen, and bath industry. He often went with me on pet sitting visits in the evenings and on the weekends prior to becoming a full-time business partner. Ronnie is a native of Georgia but grew up in Florida and New Jersey before he landed in Chicago, where he and I met. He has had pets all his life, including a Doberman Pinscher named Rex.

We are often joined on our dog sitting visits by our own two dogs, Roscoe and Sasha. Roscoe is a black Labrador mix from Chicago and Sasha is a rescued pit bull mix. All the other pups in her litter had to be euthanized due to parvovirus and she was the only one who survived.

Ronnie and I are also members of the Los Angeles Pet Sitters Network, which I created shortly after starting My Favorite Pet Sitter. With approximately 80 members from all over the Los Angeles area, the LA Pet Sitters Network is an informal association of professional pet sitters who network with each other to improve their own businesses, as well as the pet sitting profession as a whole. Due to the success of the LA Pet Sitters Network, individual pet sitters are able to work with each other to back each other up in cases of emergency or vacations, and refer business to each other. Members also discuss day to day issues that come up within their own businesses, thereby helping everyone to improve theirs.


For added protection for our clients, their owners, and us, we are fully insured and bonded. Click here to view insurance certificate. Click here to view bonding certificate.

We are both dedicated to making sure our clients’ pets are well taken care of and treated with the love and respect we treat our own dogs. For added protection for clients, their homes and pets, we are insured, bonded, and certified in pet first aid/CPR, which we renew each year.
We look forward to helping you with your pet care needs!

Chris Smith
Ronnie Shumate