Photo by philliefan99So you’re going out of town for a few days. Did you make all the arrangements to ensure your house doesn’t fall into disrepair while you’re gone? Enlist a friend to collect your mail? Put the newspaper on hold? That’s easy enough.
But what about your dog? You could, as a certain presidential candidate once did, stick the pooch in a cage and strap it to the roof of your car. Then again, not every trip away from home is for the dogs. Unless you have that super-reliable friend who will chuck aside his or her schedule to feed, walk and play with your dog, chances are you’ll board your pet at an area kennel.
But Aaron Hirschhorn, an entrepreneur based in Santa Monica, Calif., says kenneling is too rough (pun intended) on dogs’ well being and their owners’ wallets. In the D.C. area, the price of leaving a dog at a kennel can climb to more than $50 a day after “perks” like walks and playtime are added in. Hirschhorn, an unabashed dog lover, argues that not only are kennels too expensive to begin with, but charging extra for the kind of care hyperactive creatures like dogs need is just a racket. (Disclosure: I’m friends with Hirschhorn’s brother, who did not have any input into this article.)
In March, Hirschhorn launched DogVacay.com, which connects dog owners with people willing to open their homes to other people’s pets for a few days at a time. Better to leave a dog with a person who can provide loving, attentive care than with a facility tending to dozens or hundreds of canines, he argues.
Hirschhorn and his wife, Karine, own a pair of dogs—Rocky, a golden retriever-poodle mix, and Rambo, described as a “fluffy white mutt.” He recalls that after leaving his dogs at a kennel during one trip, he picked them up only to be greeted by a couple of cranky pets.
“The kennel is overpriced and your dog spends 23 hours in a cage,” he says. “You feel bad. Your dog hates it.”
Last year, Aaron and Karine, an aspiring director and screenwriter, figured they could do better than a kennel. “I said, ‘We love dogs, let’s open our home and see if we can make a little extra money,’ ” he says. Aaron Hirschhorn says the test run received top marks on Yelp. In November, he incorporated DogVacay.
Like AirBnB.com or CouchSurfing.com do for human travelers seeking to either save money by not staying at a hotel or just get a touch of home, DogVacay sidesteps the normal boarding options typically offered to canine friends. But, as treasured pets and companions, Hirschhorn says customers expect some vetting before offloading their dog to a stranger.
Hirschhorn says that between the United States and Canada, more than 7,000 people have applied to be hosts on DogVacay. Of those applicants, fewer than half—about 3,000—have been approved. Some are professional pet-care providers, others are just dog lovers and some aren’t even pet owners. But before being listed, all must prove that they are qualified to show DogVacay’s customers that they are up to the task of caring for dogs with as much love as the owners themselves.
DogVacay, which has $1 million in seed funding according to CrunchBase.com, reviews potential hosts’ homes, work schedules and history of pet ownership before signing off. There’s also an interview and multiple-choice test, along with a normal background reference check.
Hirschhorn launched his site in March with a focus on California. Last month it expanded to New York, and this month it is adding six cities, including Washington.
The site leaves it up to the hosts to set their individual rates, but most in the D.C. area ask between $20 and $50 a day for full-care dog-watching service that includes multiple walks a day and plenty of space for the dogs to stretch out. (DogVacay takes a cut, of course.)
Shannon C., a DogVacay provider in Cleveland Park, charges $25 a day for an average-sized dog to stay in her one-bedroom apartment. She promises 24-hour supervision, three or four walks per day and visits to the nearby Rosedale Conservancy where dogs are free to run about without a leash. Shannon also offers canine company in her golden retriever mix, Heap.
Contrast Shannon’s rates with Shady Spring Kennels in Woodbine, Md. The per-night rates begin at $27 for dogs weighing up to 40 pounds, but activities such as walks ($7 for 15 minutes) cost extra. Hirschhorn argues owners shouldn’t have to pay extra for the things that will keep their dogs lively and happy. “We think of the competition as the kennels,” he says. “Even the professional pet-sitter, we think of them as a partner. We’re offering a better experience at half the price.”
