Dog Walkers On-Demand, Right From Your Phone
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)— It's an app that both you and your pet will benefit from. Its called Wag, an on-demand dog walking app.
"She's probably the most loyal dog I've ever had," said Julien Lopresti, a Wag user, of her mutt Reptar. But for much of the day, Julien is stuck here, at his New York City office. "You're leaving your apartment at 7 a.m. and sometimes not getting back until 7 p.m. It's not fair to the dog to leave them that long," Julien said.
That's why he downloaded Wag. With the push of a button, he can hire a dog walker to go to his apartment. Wag users are given a lock-box so the dog walker can get inside. It costs $10 for a potty break and up to $30 for a one-hour deluxe walk.
"Once they start the walk, you get a notification. You can follow them on GPS and it tells you what happened during the walk," said Julien.
Wag manager Matthew Kinzle says the company puts walkers through a background check. "We have a very tough vetting process," Matthew said. "We hire less than one percent of the walkers that apply."
Eleanor Clowe is a Wag walker and a college student. She can pick and choose her own schedule, making money on each walk she accepts. "If I'm going to buy a new pair of shoes, I'll take on like 20 walks in a day," she said.
Dog walker apps are catching on in other cities too. The Rover app offers piece of mind and less stress, for both the dog owner and his best friend. Right now you can use the Rover app right here in Philadelphia, while Wag hopes to expand to our area soon.