I am a recent graduate and current grad student at Fairfield University finishing my MSF, while living in Westport, CT. I started walking dogs and dog sitting in 2018-2019, my junior year at Fairfield U. At the time, I had just put down my childhood dog (an English Springer Spaniel) after coming home from study abroad. Lucky, my english springer, had lived 17 wonderful years with my family and I! Having been with me from kindergarten to junior year of college, this dog was a huge part of my life. The best form of therapy I could think of at that time, was dog walking for families in the area.

I started working for apps and walking as many dogs as my schedule would allow. It became the best part of my day and honestly the best part of my week!

A few months in, I started seeing faults in the dog walking app system(s). Those are as follows:

Delayed Response- if there was an emergency, I would have to call a California number and wait for them to transfer me to the owner(s). I believe in having full transparency and efficient lines of communication between owner and walker. Paige & Paws offers real time response.

Meet & Greets were not mandatory- One dog that I had been walking in the spring, became a different dog in the fall. He was acting out of character and even went to lunge at me ... uncommon behavior for him. The owner had been having multiple other walkers walking him while I was home in the summer. I cannot stress this enough, but it is imperative that you know and fully trust the person(s) caring for your dog when you are away. Cameras are great, but they can only capture so much. Dog walking apps give you the option to pay for a meet and greet with a walker before they walk your dog, rarely anyone on the app took advantage of that option. That is why I require complimentary meet & greets prior to starting services, that way we all feel comfortable.

Surge Pricing- my pricing is consistent and tailored to you and your dog's needs. I do not raise prices on weekends.

Uncertainty of Visit- People will request walks on apps and even if no one is available, the app will leave the walks up there and increase payment for the walk. Many times I would accept walks and find out from the owner that this walk was requested hours ago and that the dog has been in the crate waiting all of that time, due to cancellations and uncertainty in the apps. At Paige & Paws, I always confirm a walk or sitting the day before.

Despite the numerous problems I have found on these apps, I do not regret the knowledge and experience I gathered from my time working for them. I got great experience with many different breeds. From those experiences I can better shape my own dog care business, into one that I can wholeheartedly stand behind.

Lastly, being that I am finishing up school, and not yet ready to have my own dog, this job is very important to me. I thoroughly enjoy being around dogs and look forward to the time I spend with yours.