Scots staycation site for cats and dogs launched

Amanda Somers with collie bitch Brook, for whom she dog sits when the owners are on holiday. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Now a service which allows people to find pet sitters to stay in their own homes to look after their dogs and cats while they go on holiday – or lets their animals take a break at someone else’s house – is launching in Scotland.

Holidog, which already has around 100,000 members in France, where it began six years ago – matches potential sitters with owners away on holiday.

Animal owners browse profiles of prospective sitters within a radius of up to 50 miles of their home. The animal can stay home, or relocate to the pet sitter’s house for their own break.

Hieu Nguyen, head of operations at Holidog, said: “People previously used kennels when they went on holiday, but they now want a more personalised service for their pets – where someone will actually give them one-to-one attention, rather than leave them sad and alone. It is the personal touch which is really appreciated by our pet owners which keeps us going.”

Holidog recommends sitter and pet are introduced before the owner goes away, giving them the chance to decide if the pair have a bond before the deal is signed. The pet owner then pays an agreed fee to the sitter.

Gemma Johnston, owner of specialist pet shop Just Dogs, in Edinburgh, said: “A lot of dog walkers already offer a pet sitting service where people send their dogs to stay with them while they are away, while others send their dogs to kennels,” she said. “But for some animals, people prefer them to be looked after in their own home, particularly if there is a reason why they might be upset by a change to their usual routines. I have a rescue dog who is quite nervous, so a kennel is not ideal.

“I think this idea would be quite popular with pet owners and there would definitely be a demand but, for me, it would depend on exactly how it was regulated as to whether I recommended it to my customers.”

Sue McRae, a travel adviser from Edinburgh, said she had offered her services as a pet sitter through Holidog after a friend in London told her she had used the service. “I have a dog of my own, but she is quite old and doesn’t need a lot of walking, so working from home, it was ideal for me to take on other animals to make sure I get out of the house,” she said. “I always meet the dogs first – as I have my own dog, I need to be sure it will be OK with her.”

Bonita Preacher, a retired head teacher from Edinburgh, had lost a dog after leaving it in a kennel during a previous holiday. She wanted to find a more personal service for her current dog, Holly, and eventually was matched with Sue through the Holidog site.

“I started looking online for dog sitters and came across the website. It meant we could look at lots of different profiles and find someone whom we thought had plenty of experience and it worked out very well. Sue treated Holly even better than we do ourselves.”

Case study: ‘I’ve found it really hard to let them go’

AMANDA Somers, a 21-year-old student from Edinburgh, has looked after pets twice while their owners were on holiday.

“A lot of my friends were walking dogs to make a bit of extra money and I just started to Google opportunities and Holidog came up,” she said. “It seemed to be a great idea. I’d always had dogs at home growing up, but living in rented flats as a student, I don’t have one of my own at the moment so this seemed ideal. I’ve found it really hard to let them go home at the end – you get really attached to them.

“So far, I’ve always taken dogs at my house, although I know you can stay at a pet sitter’s house too – I only take on a dog when I know I’m going to be around at home – I don’t want an animal sitting around in a strange place on its own wondering what is going on.”