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October 21, 2013

Leaving It To The Professionals

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

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!

Comments for Leaving It To The Professionals

  1. Steven/Buddy says:

    Will that’s great it all worked out for you and Eko.
    I would have a hard time trusting someone to walk Buddy, I would be worried that something might happen.
    I do have a great neighbor/ friend that will come over and let Buddy out in the yard, play with him, make sure everything is ok and even give Buddy the love he needs, along with Buddy’s cookie when he comes back in.
    It’s just my crazy fear that Buddy would get lose on a walk or something. Or would Buddy try to get away to try to find me ? The main reason I say this is, Buddy and I have really bonded, and he goes nuts if I am not in sight or around him, this is what has been told to me by family, like if I have to go out to my garage and leave him inside.
    So I.am glad it all worked out for you, and hope I didn’t make you think about what I think about ?

  2. What a wonderful service you found to take care of Eko for you when you’re away…..it’s nice to know he’s in good hands…..

    Pam

  3. We have thought about a dog walker for those certain times but have never done it. I love that they keep you informed as to what is going on, that is important. Now with a young dog, Mom can’t just leave for 10 hours anymore, we will see, I haven’t seen anything that high tech here yet.

  4. Eko is so lucky to have such a loving caring owner.

  5. I sure wish we had this service where I live!

  6. Love it. Wonder if there is a hooman walking service. Ours need regular walks or they start to do crazy things like stare at the tellybox and not talk much!

    Nacho, Noah, Buddy & Basil
    xxxx

  7. Marcela says:

    Lol. Will, I thought you were getting Eko ready for a date:) So cute and so considerate of you to have him nice, clean and handsome. I am so glad you found a reliable dog walker. I used to walk, now only in very rare ocassions, a huge GSD Mon-Thurs for almost a year. Later on it was only twice a week, and now that he is almost a perfect gentleman, only when his parents will be working long hours. Does it make a difference? Yes, it really does. You are such an amazing parent Will. Eko is lucky to have you:)

  8. Dog walking services are not common in Spain at least not in Seville. I see ads on the street sometimes and often feel tempted to call so they can walk the beast when I’m away, but since they have no references and Doggy is very special (he wouldn’t walk with a stranger, he would sit and not move) I rather not risk it.
    Glad you had a nice experience and found a reliable “company” for Eko.

  9. We have no dog walking services here, so we have to manage all by ourselves. I’m glad Eko likes DDi too :o)

  10. Boomdeeadda says:

    DDI and Lauren sound very caring and that’s such a relief when you need to leave you pet for a short or long term. We feel the same about our pet sitter Cindy. We were so happy to find her and really enjoy the updates and photo’s she shares with us while we’re away. That QR code thing is cool, I’ll have to tell her about it.

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