About Me

Hi! I’m Lauren.

I officially founded Playful Paws in 2017. After a pause in 2021, I’m excited to bring the business back in 2025! My love for pups started early - I began dog sitting for friends, family, and neighbors in my early teens and never looked back.

These days, I work part-time for our family-owned flooring company, Elevated Hardwood Floors. Because I make my own schedule, I’m able to offer flexible weekday drop-in visits and dog walks throughout Northern Colorado. For the time being, I am not offering boarding, but hope to return to that service in the near future! I’m typically unavailable on weekends - camping with my partner, Kevin, and our two pups is our favorite way to recharge (hello, 3 out of 4 weekends!). However, if you need weekend care for your pup(s), please don’t hesitate to ask!

We share our home with two sweet pups:

• Willow, our 12-year-old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix, who I rescued as a tiny 7-8 week old puppy, from a box on the side of the road, marked “free puppies”. She is an absolute sweetheart - an “aging beauty” as Kevin calls her, who lives with chronic pancreatitis, and is slowly losing her vision.

• Charlie, our 2-year-old mixed breed (we’re guessing a Schipperke/Heeler mix), is our most recent addition, adopted from Animal Friends Alliance. She struggles with severe separation anxiety so we are working on building her confidence and trust through calm exposure, play, and plenty of positive reinforcement. Watching her grow braver and more curious each day has been incredibly rewarding.

They are the light of my life. Willow is well-trained—though she’ll tell you her enthusiastic barking is just part of her charm! We’re loving every moment of training Charlie, too. She’s as sharp as they come and picking things up fast. One of my biggest dreams is to someday have a little slice of land where we can foster senior rescue dogs and give them the peaceful, love-filled, golden years they deserve.

Dogs are pure-hearted, loyal, joyful souls—a true gift from God. I started Playful Paws because I genuinely love caring for them, playing with them, and helping busy pet parents feel at ease while they’re away.

Let’s connect—I’d love to meet you and your pup(s)!