Experienced East Bay Dog Walkers Needed
Here’s the ad we put up on Craigslist and sent to approximately 300 of our best friends. Please get in touch if you know someone looking for a job who would be a good fit.
About Doggy Lama Pet Care
People like us. We were voted “Best High-Tech Doggie Care” by the East Bay Express in 2007. San Francisco magazine voted us one of the “Top 5 Places to Board Your Dog” in 2008. We have twenty 5-star reviews on Yelp.com and clients love our Flickr site, where we post new pictures daily of Doggy Lama dogs out on the trails and beaches.
Our main services are dog walking and in-home dog boarding although we also do some drop-in visits for pets. We have six dog walkers who walk dogs in Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond. We have an unusual style of dog boarding—we board 2-4 dogs each in 5 East Bay homes, where we keep the dogs with us constantly and don’t crate them unless they come with their own crates. We exercise boarding dogs for a minimum of an hour/day out on the trails.
We are looking for 1-2 dog walkers to join our team. The primary need is for group dog walks, although if our new dog walkers are interested in boarding, drop-in visits, or individual dog walks, those are options, too.
You can find out more information about Doggy Lama Pet Care here:
Web site: http://www.doggylamapetcare.com (It is visible through Safari and Firefox browsers currently—sorry you can’t see it through Internet Explorer—we had code problems recently and a new version of the site will be up in a couple weeks.)
Daily photo updates: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doggylama/
Yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/7oPSx23J1EKQ1pavqcYsWw
About the position
We will train you to walk dogs for us and, if you haven’t already gone to the Dog Walking Academy, we will partially subsidize you to get trained through that program on dog behavior, body language, and pack management, as well as Pet CPR and Pet First Aid. We will continue to support you as you become more confident walking groups of dogs. The eventual goal will be for you to walk up to two groups of dogs per day. The maximum number of dogs in each group is six.
You will be an independent contractor (IC), so you will be responsible for your own health insurance, vehicle, dog leashes, etc.
One of the strengths of Doggy Lama is that we’re a team. If you need help with your dogs at the last minute because you have car problems or you want to take a vacation, we’re here to help you.
Requirements
You must be available between 9am-4pm Monday through Friday.
You have a reliable car or truck that can accommodate 4-6 medium to large dogs.
You have a good driving record and insurance.
You can walk dogs rain or shine. (When it’s raining out, our clients need us more than ever!)
You can pass a criminal/background check.
You have some comfort and familiarity with computers and the Internet (We send regular email updates and use Google Calendar for your schedule.)
You have a cell phone that you can leave on during working hours.
You have excellent references.
You have extensive experience working with dogs—this can be in the professional, personal, or volunteer realm.
You must be at least 18 years old.
You must be able to make a minimum commitment of 1 year.
You live in the East Bay.
You are very responsible. Our clients consider their pets to be important family members—this is not a “slacker” job in any way.
Compensation
—Group dog walks
We pay 60% of the gross of what the clients pay us. For hour-long group walks, the clients pay $25/walk if the dog gets walked Monday through Friday and $27/walk if the dog gets walked fewer than 5x/week. This comes out to be $15-$16.20 per dog for up to six dogs. For a full group of six dogs, it usually takes an hour to pick them up, an hour out on the trails, and an hour to drop them off. We care about the environment and your time and stress level, so we will try to make your driving distance as small as possible.
Here’s another way to think about it:
# of dogs in group:/Pay range for group:/Approximate time needed:
3—$45 to 49.50—2.5 hours
4—$60 to $66—2.75 hours
5—$75 to $82.50—3 hours
6—$90 to $97.20—3 hours
If you have the energy, skills, and interest, we can build you up to two groups of dogs per day, but unless you already have experience as a professional dog walker, you should expect to walk only one group per day for at least a couple months.
—Drop-in visits
We charge $35/half-hour for a drop-in visit or individual dog walk. You would make 60% of that, or $21. Please do not apply to do drop-in visits only—our primary need right now is for dog walkers and drop-ins are something the walker could do only in addition to dog walking.
—Boarding
We charge $50-$55/dog/day for in-home boarding. You would make 60% of that, or $30-33/dog. Please do not apply for boarding position only—our primary need is for dog walkers. Boarding is something we can talk about doing with the new dog walker to supplement his or her income.
How to Apply
Please send your resume, at least 3 references, and a cover letter that tells us about your experience with dogs to the manager of Doggy Lama, Nicki Horne, at
and cc: the owner, Molly Kenefick, at
. Nicki works 2-6 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (she is off on Wednesdays and weekends). She will get back to you during her work days. Please tell us whether you come to us through a friend or acquaintance, or through Craigslist.
We hope to hear from you!
Thanks,
Nicki and Molly