As we watch the world become gray and the cold bitterness of winter sets in, it’s not very difficult to sink into a depressive state. It’s both fascinating and frightening to witness how dreary weather can have such a monumental effect on energy levels and moods.
Whether it’s seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the “winter blues” or merely a funk, combatting the melancholy in your life has just become a helluva lot easier. One would have to have an extremely “ruff” life if the thought of puppies still threatens to put a damper on your holiday spirit.
Pet therapy is a helpful tool used professionally to help those with mental health problems. Bradley has the club Wags for Mags, and during finals week in the library you can check out the Peoria Humane Society Special Pals program.
Additionally, Uber has teamed up with local animal shelters to deliver puppies directly to one’s door. Currently, it is only offering the service in select cities on select dates, and the high demand for those dates resulted in limited availability.
Which begs the question, why doesn’t Uber expand this occasional service into a full time business? If it had more resources and profited, rather than donating it to shelters, it would have a solid increase in sales as well as improving its brand image. The going price is $30 for 15 minutes of playtime with the pups, which is fairly steep, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
There are other apps that incorporate similar ideas, such as BarkBuddy, which matches prospective dog owners to an adoptable pup. Unfortunately, this still does not account for the huge gap in the marketplace ¬– those who love dogs but aren’t ready for the commitment.
Bark ‘n’ Borrow is the perfect medium between Uber Puppies and BarkBuddy. Many dog owners pay companies or friends to dog-sit, but there are plenty of people that would be more than willing to do it for free.
The app isn’t just for dog watching, either. If someone enjoys runs and needs a companion, they can go on the app and find someone who thinks their dog could benefit from a little extra exercise.
The main problem with this concept is the element of trust. Many people care for their pets like children and even with a surplus of borrowers, owners need to establish a relationship before they simply hand over their canine.
Liam Berkley, the founder of Bark ‘n’ Borrow, said he believes this issue has a potential solution in the near future in the form of a borrowers fee to help cover insurance and customer support.
Other future initiatives include partnering with animal rescue shelters to connect people with foster dogs and if money becomes an element, providing the shelters with a portion of the profits. The company’s objectives appear very promising.
I hope to see this business flourish, because if we are allowed to share cars, apartments and other valuable things via the Internet, adding puppies to that list seems like a no-brainer.
