I am very fortunate to have friends like Rachel, Andrew and Grady to look after Eko when I am out of town. However, I can’t always expect a friend to be available if I’m not around to take care of my adventure buddy. That’s why last week I decided to set Eko up with a local dog walking service.
After checking out their website and reading positive reviews, I decided to go with Dogs Deserve It
The first order of business was a short behavioral assessment with DDI owner, Lauren Pietrocarlo. I have never been very well behaved, so I was relieved to learn that I was not the one being assessed. I gave Eko a bath and picked out his best suit (his birthday one) so he would look nice for the interview. Luckily I also remembered to brush his teeth.
Eko took the term “face to face interview” quite literally
While Eko kissed and fawned his way through the meeting, I spoke with Lauren about setting up an account with DDI. The process was simple and I immediately felt comfortable entrusting Eko to Lauren’s care. Lauren explained DDI’s comprehensive services and answered all my questions in a way that put my mind at ease. And clearly Eko was totally at ease as well.
Every person Eko meets is his best friend, they just might not know it!
After meeting Lauren the only thing left to do was set up our first appointment. This past Saturday I drove up to Notre Dame with a few friends for the day so I scheduled a walk/feeding for Eko that evening. Although I knew everything would be fine I still had that “I hope everything is ok…” feeling I get anytime someone is watching Eko. But DDI is one step ahead and offers a few great digital features to alleviate any lingering doubts.
This magnet Lauren gave me has a QR code on it that can be scanned by a smartphone. When Eko’s walk began, the QR code was scanned and I received an email notification. Then when the walk was over I received another email notification along with a personalized note detailing the visit
Without any effort on my part I was kept informed of Eko’s care – it was great! And it completely eliminated that “I hope everything is ok…” feeling.
In fact, everything was more than ok – when I returned late Saturday night Eko was happily snoring on the couch
From start to finish I could not be happier about my experience with DDI. It is nice to know that when I need someone to look after Eko I have a professional, reliable and caring service on call.
Don’t worry though Eko, I promise to not make a habit out of leaving you!
