Perfect pet care is just a click away
ONLINE: Services offer animal-loving sitters, walkers
TORONTO — Emilie Boyer doesn’t have a dog, but spending time with cocker spaniel Ralph more than makes up for it — and the boost to her bank account doesn’t hurt.
Since last October, Boyer has been registered as a pet sitter with Pawshake. The online service connects pet owners with animal-loving pet sitters, dog walkers, daycare and home-boarding solutions in their communities.
“I grew up with dogs. I love dogs, (but) I’m not too sure (about) getting a dog on my own. Sometimes it can be tricky,” said Boyer, who moved to Toronto from Paris about six years ago.
“Honestly, pet sitting is the best compromise I’ve found to be around dogs.”
Rates start at $15 per night and are inclusive of complimentary insurance, 24/7 customer support and daily updates. Pawshake retains a 19 per cent contribution from sitters, said co-founder Tanguy Peers.
Clients can comb through online profiles of sitters and are encouraged to meet them ahead of time.
“All of these websites are based on trust. It’s really important that we have the right people on the platform,” said Peers.
Peers co-founded Pawshake with Dries Coucke, with whom he worked at eBay and Kijiji. Coucke developed their company’s concept under tragic circumstances.
His father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009 and the family sorely needed help to care for Ibeau, his parents’ Labrador.
Coucke had previously founded pets.be, a not-for-profit website to find homes for rescue pets. He solicited help on the site’s Facebook page and “the community immediately responded,” recalled Peers.
Pawshake now operates in 15 countries, and has about 1,000 sitters in Canada.
“Think about travel with Airbnb, cars with Uber. We thought having a website where you could book pet care would actually be very helpful,” said Peers.
Billed as the world’s largest educational association for professional pet sitters, Pet Sitters International boats more than 260 Canadian business owners as active members, said marketing and communications manager Beth Stultz. There is an initial $135 US membership fee for Canadians and $125 in subsequent years, which includes benefits like pet-sitter insurance and a listing on PSI’s Pet Sitter Locator.
McMaster University professor Nick Bontis said the ease with which potential buyers and sellers can connect is key to driving growth of crowdsourced services.
“That’s what peer-to-peer is all about, is having people find each other without the manufacturer or the retailer in the middle,” said Bontis, professor of strategy in the DeGroote School of Business.
DogVacay.com clients can access potential sitters on a desktop or mobile app, said Nicole Ellis, product manager, resident dog trainer and expert for the online service.
The company has 25,000 approved hosts across North America. They must participate in a five-step vetting process, said Ellis.
“The biggest difference is having your dog in a loving environment,” added Ellis.