There’s no way your beloved canine buddy would be happy in a boarding kennel – so wouldn’t it be amazing if you could find someone who would love them just like you do?
That’s the simple, but practical concept behind a new online market place connecting pet owners with pet minders known as FindADogMinder.com.au.
Owners can locate caring and professional registered dog minders Australia wide, and have some peace-of-mind that their pet will be well cared for.
Madeline the (French) bulldog is the newest addition to owner Georgie’s family.
“She’s our world and we love her!” Georgie told us.
“We have lots of devoted family and friends around to look after Madeline, but because we often have to travel for business at short notice we decided to engage FindADogMinder as we required someone reliable and available at anytime.
“Madeline is still young and needs lots of attention and is quite hands on.”
Georgie says the level of attention Madeline receives includes guaranteed walks, baths, cuddles and playtime – as well as texts and social media updates.
“So far, the minders have done all these things for us without even having to ask. They’re fantastic.”
Georgie says she’s so impressed with the service and the passionate minders, that she and her partner would not hesitate to use FindADogMinder for private holiday travel either.
One of Madeline’s minders is Louise who is at home with two teenage children and a husband in the Army.
“We live close to a beach and a number of parks and we all love dogs,” she said.
Louise says her family have been minders for FindADogMinder for more than 15 months, after initially signing-up to have her own two dogs minded while on holiday.
“We know how difficult it is to find a reliable dog-minder so we ended up becoming minders ourselves.”
Louise says the typical minding experience including a ‘meet and greet’ with owner and pet to talk about the dog’s preferences, restrictions, medication and feeding requirements about one week before the holiday or business trip.
She says it generally takes only a day for the new dog to be accepted into the ‘pack’ with her own two dogs.
“We feed them in the morning; they have a mid-morning walk for about 45 minutes; a chilled-out relaxing afternoon; another shorter walk in the afternoon; followed by dinner and television.
“It’s amazing how many dogs like watching television!” she says.
She says she lets owners know how their dog is settling-in and, depending on how long the owners are away, will send updates.
“It’s a great experience. Dogs also have a way of sensing dog lovers so the visiting dogs often put their owners at ease by their reaction to us.”
Founder of FindADogMinder, Alex Bedwani, said he has been minding pets since he was nine years old.
“My parents wouldn’t let me have a dog, so I did the next best thing – minding others. FindADogMinder is just an extension of that idea.”
He says the fee for using FindADogMinder is significantly less than for a boarding kennel.
“Best of all, we connect you to a passionate pet carer so you know that your dog is being well looked, almost as if they’re having a holiday at the same time you do. You can be certain they’re safe, cared for and happy.”