It’s a whole new world. Need a ride? Reach for your phone and someone will be there to snag you in a few minutes, and it doesn’t have to be a taxi. Uber, Lyft and Car2Go have changed the world we live in. Need a place to stay? Pull up a lodging app and you can have a comfy bed in a local hotel at amazing rates. Or you could land a “last-minute” rate at some swank bed and breakfast quicker than you can order a pizza. Here and abroad, you can just as easily be renting out someone’s home for a few days, part of a growing new world of vacation travel accommodations.
And now, this brave new world is finding its way to impact the lives of your pets as well.
Ready? Here’s what life is like now if you need a dog sitter: There’s a app for that.
Calling Rover — part of the new sharing economy. Where once geography and the fact that we were all strangers meant we rarely reached out to anyone outside those businesses listed in the phone book, amateur drivers, dog sitters and lodgers, today can fill that niche with a smart phone.
“Before that would be so weird. Now it’s just the way that we do things,” says Brandie Gonzales, director of communications at Rover.
For Rover, this new-world fondness for sharing and leaning on other average Joes when you need a hand has been big business. The company, which got its start three years ago in its hometown of Seattle, has seen a 575-percent spike in revenue and thousands of pet sitters around the country, including close to 50 in and around Aurora. And they’ve snagged the attention of some pet industry heavyweights, with an investor list that includes PetCo and several other large investment outfits.
On average, a night with a dog sitter — your house or theirs, you and the sitter choose — runs about $25 to $35. In Aurora, the average is about $25 to $30. And the set-up is laid-back enough that you can chat with the sitter beforehand to work out any issues regarding your pooch’s health or medical needs.
Link your credit card to the app to pay and when the stay is over, you rate the sitter and they rate you, the same way Uber and other similar apps work.
The idea came after a co-founders’ dog, Ruby Tuesday, got hurt at a traditional kennel. From there, the company launched and eventually secured start-up funding in 2011.
The system is a simple one. People who want to dog sit pass a background check and register with Rover. They detail their various pet related amenities — a pool, other pets, dog houses — and people looking to stash their furry loved one somewhere safe for a few nights pick one that looks like a good fit.
Lisa DeBoer, one of the many Rover dog sitters in Aurora, said for a dog lover like herself, Rover has been a great fit. Since she first posted her profile on the site in August, she’s landed more than 30 clients, most of whom have more than one dog.
DeBoer has a black lab named Harley and a chow/lab mix named Midnight. She said the first experience was a little nerve wracking. The dog was an American bull dog that looked like nothing but head and muscles when he strolled in.
“But he turned out to be a big baby,” she says with a laugh.
Business has been so brisk DeBoer quit her job in the medical and dental billing industry and does Rover full time.
$25 a night allows one to quit ones job?