Dog owners know the anguish of having to leave their best four-legged friends behind and "pet parents" have go on vacation or leave for a short period of time. Traditionally, this means dropping off Spot with friends, family or as a last resort, an expensive kennel.
But Rover.com wants to help people, who love their dogs, to connect with the best, brightest, and most caring dog sitters in their city, and take the worry and hassle out of finding one close by, according to an interview conducted on Tuesday with Rover.com.
Tech meets dog
The CEO of Rover.com , Aaron Easterly, previously worked at Microsoft as the General Manager for Ad Networks, and as the General Manager overseeing operations at the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group where he improved the bottom line for Microsoft product advertising.
So how does a tech guy turn into the CEO of a dog sitting referral service? Easy; he loves his dog Caramel, a Pomeranian, and was excited to get involved with a company that offered a solution to dog owners who were looking for qualified and loving dog sitters.
No kennel for you
Greg Gottesman, the founder of Rover.com, came up with the idea for the company after he and his dog, Ruby Tuesday, went through a bad experience at a local kennel. Gottesman then went on to postulate that many dog owners would probably prefer a warm and inviting home for their pets to stay over, rather than a kennel, and the concept of Rover.com was born.
Gottesman is also the Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, an early-stage venture capital investment firm with almost $1 billion under management.
Rover.com presently has over 120,000 users on its website and has listings in over 4,300 cites across the United States. The company recently secured $7 million in Series B funding to help with the expansion of the fast growing business.
Rover.com states on its website:
“Rover.com is committed to creating a fun and safe way to match dog owners with trusted pet sitters. The company offers an online and mobile experience, backend support that verifies and reviews sitters, a satisfaction guarantee, and insurance coverage.”
Owners can also receive text messages and photo updates on how their pet is doing during their stay.
Meet the sitters
Dog owners who visit the Rover.com website are shown a listing of available dog sitters in their area by clicking the “Find Sitter” button. A list of qualified candidates are displayed, their qualifications, experience, and any special services they provide. The website is extremely easy to use and is very user friendly.
The vetting process for Rover.com dog sitters is rigorous and very thorough. Applicants who want to be listed on the website have to fill out an in-depth questionnaire and profile form that covers personal and technical qualifications for taking care of dogs.
Ingrid Belobradic, Marketing Manager for Rover.com stated:
“Sitters must fill out an extensive form. Customer service goes through it with a fine tooth comb, and they verify contact information, scrutinize all points, go through the description, and follow up with [the applicants] to let them know if they have been approved or not.
“The approval rate is only 10 percent. We are really, really selective!”
But even after an individual is cleared, the dog sitter must post testimonials to affirm that they are caring and qualified for the job.
As a prelude to selecting a dog sitter, Belobradic says that a preliminary face-to-face with the prospective dog sitter is a good idea:
“We encourage all our users to do a meet and greet with the sitters to see how they interact with their dog.”
Bring your dog to work
Rover.com is a place where humans and canines work hand-in-hand or perhaps we should say paw-in-hand .
Dogs of all shapes, breeds, and sizes can be found at the Rover.com headquarters, giving moral support and a bit of humor to the employees.
“At any given time, there are at least 12 dogs in the office, ” Belobradic said with a smile and appreciation of the perk. “Sometimes when the staff has to make phone calls, we’ll have to wait five minutes for all the dog chatter to calm down. All the dogs are loving life and hanging out at the office!”
She said enthusiastically that everyone at Rover.com loves their dogs, and there is no doubt about that.
Rest assured
Some sitters provide added services such as walking, pickup and drop off. Other sitters offer Rover ID tags for your pet, 24-hour access to a licensed veterinarian for questions or concerns, CPR and first aid training, and access to emergency vet care.
Dog sitting fees can vary from $10 to $70 per day, but there are no signup fees for users or sitters for listings.
The paws have it
Rover.com is a unique service that is focused on matching up the best available dog sitters with their clients; the dog and the parent.
For more information about local sitters in your area, go to Rover.com.
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/rover-com-it-could-turn-out-to-be-your-dog-s-second-best-friend?cid=roadrunner