New puppy share resource in Seattle hopes to increase the fun

There are some things we can all agree on: The sky is blue. Summer doesn’t start in Seattle until after July 4. And puppies are adorable.

Even though puppies are undoubtedly the cutest in the whole world, not everyone has the lifestyle to have their own.

Enter City Dog Share. It started in San Francisco and has migrated its way to Seattle.

“It’s a great way to kind of extend the love you have for your other family members,” Eric Husk tells The Andrew Walsh Show.

Husk grew up with dogs, but when he moved to San Francisco, having a dog wasn’t a possibility for him. So he offered his dog sitting services to all of his friends.

They took him up on it.

Every weekend he would walk a different friend’s dog, or a pair of dogs. He would take them to the dog park, and wave goodbye when dog-mom and dog-dad got back into town.

One weekend it got to be too much – he was traveling back and forth between three different houses watching dogs, and one cat too.

It was time to spread the love, and the idea for City Dog Share was born. He couldn’t be the only one out there with dog-love but living dog-free.

He wasn’t. The San Francisco arm grew, then eventually, City Dog Share expanded to other metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Humboldt County, Portland, and most recently the Seattle area.

Here is what you need to know if you want to use City Dog Share:

Pet owners

You can post a photo of your dog on the local group page, along with your request. You can look for someone who wants to walk with your dog, or other dogs who might make a fun play date. You can even look for a dog sitter if you’re going out of town.

If you’re a dog owner that’s hesitant about handing over “your baby,” for good reason, you just referred to them as “your baby,” Husk says you should meet with the person first. You could meet them at the dog park and see if they get along with your dog, before handing over the leash.

Petless animal friends

You can respond to folks who post photos of their dogs on the City Dog Share page or you can post your own request. Husk said that while some dog owners are going to be looking for someone to walk their dog when they’re working late, it’s not odd to find the opposite: someone who works from home and would like to get out of the house and stretch their legs.

Husk says that above all else the mission of the group helps out all sorts of people – and pets. “It’s a non-profit, part of mission is to really help increase foster and adoption rates.”

If someone isn’t sure about having a dog yet, Husk says this program is for them. With the convenience of logistics on geography, the program encourages the dog-less to find out if they prefer a small guy or a big pup to wrestle with.

And for some animal lovers, it’s a great stop-gap.

“People who recently lost dogs aren’t always ready to get another dog right away,” says Husk.

“Dogs are like people,” Husk says. “They come with a whole host of different joys and needs. Having a dog is a huge responsibility, but it’s a lot of fun. So part of the program is about sharing the responsibility, but also increasing the fun for everyone.”

You can find out more about how to get involved in Seattle’s Dog City Share program by watching this video.