BorrowMyDoggy - Making Dog Lovers Dreams Come True Since 2012
Posted on: 20 Mar 2018I think we can all agree that dogs are too pure for this world. Whether they’re grinning for no reason, getting excited over a stick, or pricking up their ears when they hear the word ‘sausage’, they have a way of making even the hardest amongst us smile.
But… they also require a large amount of care and attention. Not everyone has a lifestyle which can accommodate a canine friend, and those who do sometimes feel that they don’t give their dogs as much attention as they deserve.
And so enters ‘BorrowMyDoggy.com’… the dog-sitting website which matches dog owners to local dog lovers looking to fill their pooch-less void. The idea of the site is simple - people who have a dog but are lacking the time to spend with it are coupled with people who are missing a furry friend in order to give the dog more exercise, more time to socialise and generally just to flood it with love. Sounds great, right? 
The site was established in 2012. Founder Rikke Rosenlund spent the day looking after her neighbour's dog Aston, and soon realised that there was a gap in the market for a place where dog lovers could offer 'a helping paw', taking care of owners' dogs when they couldn't themselves.
To register on the site you either sign up as an ‘owner’ or a ‘borrower’. After entering your name, email and location you can start messaging people in your local area but only meet once your address has been verified by the BorrowMyDoggy team. After this, borrowers can meet owners face to face and build trust. 
The idea is that each relationship is different - some borrowers may take the dog for one walk a week, others may do so more often and some owners may even ask if their borrower is available to look after the dog whilst they go on holiday. Borrowers are unpaid volunteers, looking after the owner’s dog purely for the love of it. 
Glowing testimonials from the site describe not just physical but psychological changes in the dogs who are ‘borrowed’. Weight loss and improvements in fitness, as well as reductions in separation anxiety and gained confidence, show the effects of dog-sitting to be entirely positive. Dogs become happier and healthier, with the owners safe in the knowledge that their dog-sitter is doing it for love, not for money.
Owners save money on dog-walkers and kennels, borrowers get to satisfy all of their dog cuddling needs - it’s a win win situation. To find out more about getting involved, visit the site here. As for me, I’m off to register and meet my new best friend…
Article by:
Iona is a final year Biomedical Science Undergraduate at the University of Bristol. Her passions include blogging, walks by the harbour and exploring new cocktail venues. Iona is working with 365Bristol as part of the Santander Internship scheme for spring and summer 2018.
