Want a furry four-legged friend, but can’t afford to look after one or not quite ready for the commitment? Cue Bark’N’Borrow, a new smartphone app that connects ‘man’ with ‘man’’s best friend but on a short-term basis.
There are four main types of members:
- ‘The Sitter’ – a certified caregiver with a price tag who will watch over your ball of fur on a leash.
- ‘The Borrowers’ – who will take a dog for a short amount of time and in exchange for simply making your dog happy.
- Then there’s the Owner and the Dog—self-explanatory.
Dog owners have many reasons for using Bark’N’Borrow. Some work long-hours and are worried about keeping their pets at home all day, those who go on holidays and don’t want to send their pets to a kennel and then there’s those who just want to share the puppy love.
The app is free to download and use, though professional dog-sitters can charge for their services. Unfortunately, it does not currently seem to incorporate any sort of borrowing service involving local shelters. A similar service in Britain and Ireland called BorrowMyDoggy has amassed thousands of users and more than 200,000 Facebook fans in the three years it has been operating. The San Francisco-based start-up Walkzee has also been met with widespread approval for pairing people with animal shelter dogs to take for walks.
So for every pet-lonely person this whimsical idea makes perfect sense, with more locally fueled apps including Uber and AirBnb – it was only a matter of time before pets were brought into the mix.