Page 14 of September
“Gwen is the best dog walker in the city. She takes care of our dog as if it were her own. She always makes sure that our fur baby is walked long enough, checks on her food and water, even though we don’t ask her to, and makes sure she doesn’t eat anything on the walk that she shouldn’t. Our dog has some dietary restrictions and a way of finding things she shouldn’t eat, but since we changed to Gwen, she’s had no issues and seems happier,” Juliet read the review out loud to herself.
“We love Gwen. Our dog, Brutus, looks intimidating but is a total teddy bear. Gwen took the time to get to know him and has helped him socialize with other dogs. When we come home fromwork at the end of the day, he’s always in a good mood on the days he has walked with Gwen,” Juliet read the second review.
This Gwen had been with the app for over five years and had a ton of reviews; well over two hundred of them, in fact, with over five hundred ratings, managing to keep a four-point-nine out of five with that many ratings. She had to be good.
Juliet quickly checked out the remaining seventh person on the app to make sure that she hadn’t missed anyone better, which didn’t seem likely, and returned to Gwen’s profile. The woman was at the top of the preferred walker ranking and had other services listed as well. She offered full-time pet sitting if the job was offered far enough in advance and part-time pet sitting if not, meaning she would stop by and spend several hours with the pet she was taking care of, versus either staying at the pet owner’s house or taking the pet back to her own. Juliet hadn’t known that was an option, but she’d keep it in mind.
Instead of booking Gwen right away, she went to the contact icon because she didn’t want to book before getting some details. Not sure exactly what to say, she used their in-app tool to mention what she thought she needed and how often but added that it might change based on her new schedule. She also mentioned that she had a trip coming up on Monday and asked if Gwen was available then. She hit send before she could stop herself and wondered why she’d thought about stopping herself at all. She was requesting a service from someone who offered that service. It wasn’t a big deal. Juliet turned her eyes to the TV for the first time and wondered how the news had suddenly appeared there. She had been watching a movie, or so she’d thought. Then, her phone dinged with a unique notification, so she checked the readout and saw a reply from Gwen already.
Gwen: Hi. Thanks for reaching out. I’m available for part-time pet sitting this week. If you would like to talk about aschedule and how it all works, we can message, or I can call you, and we can get something set up.
“A call?” Juliet said to herself. “Yeah, that makes sense. Easier.”
She replied that a call would be fine and expected them to set up a time for it later, but then her phone just rang. It jarred her for a moment before she remembered that she had entered her phone number into her profile. It was likely that was how Gwen had gotten it, but Juliet wasn’t sure she liked her number being out there for any potential dog walker or sitter to have access to without her confirmation that they could.
“Hello?”
“Hi. This is Gwen.”
“Hi,” she said. “Juliet.”
“So, you’ll be gone this week and need someone to take care of your dog, Carly?”
“Oh, yeah,” Juliet replied, focusing on the task at hand. “Sorry. I’m a little crazy when it comes to my dog. She’s pretty much my favorite thing in the whole world.”
“I get that a lot,” Gwen said with a laugh. “And it’s no problem. They’re your family, right?”
“Yeah,” Juliet replied with a smile at Gwen’s laugh.
“So, would it help if you met me first? I often do that with potential clients. And it helps Carly, too, if you’re there when we meet for the first time.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s something you do?”
“I recommend it, actually. It’s easier on everyone that way. And if Carly isn’t a fan, for some reason, I can suggest someone else I know for you.”
“That would be amazing,” Juliet replied. “But I leave on Monday. Sorry. I just got this promotion and have to cover for someone last minute.”
“It’s okay. I can stop by today, if you want. I just left my sister-in-law’s place and have some walking to do for the next hour or so, but I’m free after that.”
“Today?”
“If we do it today and it doesn’t work, you can still meet with someone tomorrow.”
“Right,” Juliet said. “Yes. If you’re available, that would be great. How much is this meeting thing?”
“Oh. The normal hourly rate, but I don’t usually charge anyone for it.”
“You don’t? No, that’s not right. I’ll pay,” she offered.
“Up to you. It’s usually not more than twenty or thirty minutes, so it’s not a big deal to me,” Gwen said. “I saw the address in your profile. I can be there in about an hour and a half, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure. Yeah. That’s fine. I’ll take Carly for a walk so that she’s a little more subdued when you get here.”
“Actually, unless she has to go to the bathroom, can you wait? We can do that together. It helps with the adjustment if she sees me holding her leash while you walk with us.”
“Yes. I can wait. She’s asleep right now anyway.”
“Okay. Great. I’ll see you soon. Oh, are there any treats she loves?”
