Houla Houla Hop was founded in 1999 by Nora and Emily Jacobson, two sisters from Pictou County Nova Scotia. They started out on foot and on bike, servicing doggies and kitties in the Plateau area. The business quickly expanded, until before they knew it they had clients all over the Plateau, NDG, Westmount and Outremont. The bikes were cast aside, employees were hired on, and the Houla Houla Hop team was on its way!

In 2006, Nora and Emily passed the business on to one of the employees, Julie Briggs, who continued on with the Houla Houla Hop commitment of providing quality, professional care to each and every animal. In 2010, Julie began her plans to leave the business to focus on her family and new adventures. She found Christina Jez, owner of Walks & Wags Inc., who provided similar services to clients in the Montreal West Island. Christina jumped at the opportunity to be able to expand into a different service area and build upon Houla Houla Hop's solid foundation while maintaining the core values Walks & Wags shared with Houla Houla Hop.

Today Houla Houla Hop is a small and growing team of animal lovers taking care of over 30 cats and dogs each day. The following are profiles of the current team of "Houla Hoppers". For more photos of them and their furry friends, check out the photo gallery.

Christina Jez - Team Member & Owner

Christina became the owner of Houla Houla Hop in 2010. A Montreal native, she grew up in a home where there were always several pets roaming around and being around animals was natural.  In 2008, Christina founded Walks & Wags, a dog walking and pet sitting company in the Montreal West Island and in 2010 expanded operations by taking over the reins for Houla Houla Hop and combining the established and respected reputations of both businesses.  

Danielle Tetrault - Team Member

Danielle is a life-long animal lover from outside of Toronto, and currently works as our weekend warrior.  She grew up with lots of kitties, German Shepherds and Border Collies so she knows how much doggies need their exercise!  She currently is the proud owner of two pups:  Bo, a Boston Terrier, and Lulu, an Italian Greyhound rescue.  Danielle is a student at Dawson College, studying nursing, and in her spare time loves to bike, rollerblade and run - with Bo and Lulu in tow, of course!   Her energy, athleticism, and knowledge of animals and their behaviors are all great assets to our team!

  

Katie Hanvey - Team Member

Katie comes from Chelsea, QC and grew up around lots of dogs and cats alike.  She is our permanent group walker, so she spends her days playing and chasing with all the pups we bring up on Mont Royal.  Katie has great instincts about dogs and their behaviors, and even though she has a soft spot for them, she is definitely no push-over!!!

Katie spends her free time working on a Psychology degree, and she is also an avid drummer.  She currently shares her living space with her boyfriend Kieran, and their newest addition, Jacko, a little male kitty that they found and adopted thanks to Danielle!


                                                  Photo Coming Soon!!!

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Our mission with Houla Houla Hop is to provide love, attention, exercise, mental stimulation, and social interaction to each and every furry client we see. While individuals are working harder than ever outside of the home, taking business trips and necessary vacations, over 50% of Canadian households have at least one much-loved pet. Services such as ours are integral in keeping pets across the city happy.

Houla Houla Hop:

• is bonded and insured
• has good, solid references
• offers a free consultation to meet the pet and to get detailed information
• is a small team (one owner/walker and three sitters/walkers) who work closely together to ensure excellent service
• has a veterinarian on call for emergency service
• is always seeking ongoing training and education (dog behavior, cat care, animal first-aid, etc.) for its team
• ensures that the dogs walked together are all sociable and safe
• provides detailed reports on the animal's health and well-being while in our custody
• always has tons of doggy bags - we believe in clean parks!
• conducts regular quality control checks and is constantly seeking feedback from clients to better its service
• is 100% reliable, professional, and honest
• has the capability to handle bad weather, sick days, etc.
• is a member of All Canadian Pet Services Network (ACPSN)
• is committed to making pets happy

Testimonials

Valerie (Puck, Tiger, Jazz, and Bear): "I cannot tell you how wonderful it is having your fantastic pet care business alive and well in the world. It makes our trips so much less stressful - in preparation - and while we're gone. Thank you!

Carole and Guy (Tracy): "Every morning, instead of feeling guilty and sad for leaving Tracy behind, we felt good to know that Houla Houla Hop would come by later on to take care of our sweetheart. Every night, we would return to a cheerful and affectionate dog, knowing somehow that we owed part of this happiness to our devoted dog walkers from Houla Houla Hop.

Laura and Frances (Elfie): "… she enjoyed your visits, and we very much appreciated the care and affection you gave her. You got to know her in the final year of a very full life - thank you for your patience and kindness with her."

Rosanna (Monte): "Monte not only lost four pounds in the first winter of being walked, he is much more calm around other dogs, which makes me feel much more relaxed when I take him out."

Kathleen (Amaruq): "With a Canadian Eskimo Dog (Quinmiq) in the city, dog-walking (running) services are a godsend, if not a must. It's impossible to tire these guys out. Houla Houla Hop has enhanced my dog's quality of life and prevented human collapse from total exhaustion."

Joseé (Nougat): "I have great trust in Houla Houla Hop. They are reliable and always there when I need them. Nougat likes them a lot and is more relaxed on the days when they come. We also appreciate having dog walking services on the weekend!"