Zoolatry - About Us

How We Became Washington's First Midday Dog-Walking Service...
by Kathleen Murry, Founder, zoolatry

When I started Zoolatry, Inc, in early 1996, as Washington's first exclusively midday dog-walking service, I expected its growth to be quite gradual. The demand for midday dog-walking was a emerging one, wholly new and untested. Although I was quite familiar with the pet-care industry as it existed in the form of petsitting (I worked a total of eight years, beginning in 1984, for two of the earliest petsitting services in the Washington area) no one could guess how deep the demand for daily midday dogwalking would run.

Unlike petsitting services, Zoolatry caters primarily to the pet-care needs of clients who are at work (often at home) rather than on vacation. Would people be willing to pay for such a service on a daily or even intermittant basis? Would they stick with us for the life of their dog or perhaps successive lives of several dogs?

Given the uncertainty of the market, I assumed that there would be plenty of time to write Zoolatry's brochure and to create it's website. I kept my job as an editor and writer of tax and labor-law books. Within a week of accepting clients, however, Zoolatry was fulltime. Withing three months, I hired my first assistant. Nearly six years, 15 walkers, and 1,000 clients later, the website is a reality!

What Works in Midday Walking

Broadly speaking, Zoolatry offers half-hour midday walks (midday in this case including normal business hours of approximately 10 am to 5 pm). Each walker covers a very small area of the city (a matter a blocks) and has a "route" of clients he or she serves every week. This system provides consistency and allows your dog to bond with the walker.