Follow Rover online while a Wag! walker takes him out for a spin.
Some days Suzanne Simpson, a woman living with a disability in the Madison area, is unable to walk her dog, Brynn, an 11-year-old Pom-Shihtz (Pomeranian/Shih Tzu). Brynn loves to walk, so on days when Simpson can’t get out, she relies on Wag!, a new on-demand dog-walking service. With Wag! (wagwalking.com), Simpson can schedule a walk using an app, and a dog walker will be at her house shortly. “It’s really convenient,” Simpson says. Brynn is always happy when a dog walker arrives at her home. “As soon as she hears the word ‘walk,’ she is so excited.”
Founded in January 2015, Wag! works on a model similar to the ride app Uber. Using their mobile phones, dog owners download the Wag! app, and then coordinate with vetted walkers for insured walks. Simpson says her daughter, who recently moved to Los Angeles, also uses Wag! when she is working unpredictable hours and can’t get home to walk her dog.
“It’s very reassuring to know they are taking good care of your dog,” says Simpson.
Wag!’s FAQ page answers the obvious question, is it really “on-demand”? Yes, “Wag! only shows walkers near you who are guaranteed to be available when you need them. During peak hours, most on-demand services are filled within 30 minutes of booking,” according to the website.
For those not at home when they want their dogs walked, Wag! provides lock boxes in which to leave a key, or it can be arranged to share a key with the walker for more long-term assignments.
Independent dog walkers, complete with letters of reference and even insurance, have been around for a while; just check the bulletin board at a pet store. But Wag! offers a few new bells and whistles, over and above the on-demand aspect. In addition to the app notifying dog owners when their dog gets picked up, it also allows clients to follow the walk using the GPS “Puppy Tracker.” Dog walkers send a photo or video from the walk to the owner and complete a “Pup Report” at the end of the walk that includes the distance travelled and a record of when and where Spot went to the bathroom.
Lily Van Valkenberg is a Wag! walker in Madison. She found out about the service when she saw an ad seeking dog walkers this past spring. (The service launched here this summer.) Van Valkenberg has worked as a dog trainer and has loved dogs her whole life: “Since I was five, I was that kid carrying around a huge dog breed book at all times.”
Van Valkenberg, who has three dogs of her own, says she gets a notification if someone nearby is requesting a walk for their dog. She can accept it if she’s available; she usually walks about seven to eight dogs a week.
Dog owners can request a 20-, 30- or 60-minute walk. On average, a 30-minute walk costs about $20 (pricing varies according to the local market). All walks are on-leash and one-on-one, unless a home has multiple dogs. Van Valkenberg says she likes that she can give all of her attention to one dog and she enjoys having repeat customers. “I like to take the dogs on different routes,” Van Valkenberg says. “Then the dogs can smell something different and have a new experience.”