‘Happy dog time’: boom in UK dogsitting as owners return to office

Dog borrowers are stepping in to help with the challenge of fitting new pets to a post-lockdown lifestyle

After a difficult year including a bad breakup and her parents moving abroad, Aimee Lou McAvoy was desperate for a change of scene. She started occasional dogsitting, escaping London for days at a time to stay in country homes and care for adorable pets while their owners were away.

With more people returning to the office after the end of the government's advice to work from home because of the Covid pandemic, the business of looking after dogs has been booming. New customer inquiries at Barking Mad, which offers local dog home-boarding services, are up by 1144.36%, in the year to date for 2022 against the same period last year, and up by 482.75% compared with pre-pandemic demand in 2019.