Walkers Didn't Walk the Walk

Dear Dog Lady,

My friend has hired many dog walkers over the years. None seem to last. His last dog walker claimed to be walking the dog, but he wasn’t. My friend would set traps to see if the walker was showing up. He would put a piece of tape at the bottom of the door to see if it was opened or place the leash in a specific position on the table to see if it was moved. Even though the guy wasn’t showing up, he would bill my friend for the walks. After my friend fired him, the walker wouldn’t give the keys back. . .What really gets me is that the guy is supposed to be a professional dog walker. I was wondering if there’s any list on which we can place this guy’s name so he won’t be able to rip anyone else off?

Greg, Dorchester, MA

Dear Dog Lady,

I have not yet found an outlet to report my former dog walker who robbed me and possibly abused my dog. Any ideas (about how) to report her aside from the police?

Tina, Cambridge, MA

Greg and Tina, as consumers, you must take a walk on the wild side when you hire a dog walker. The service is unregulated, unmonitored, unsupervised -- except by an absent you. Because dog walkers’ canine clients can’t talk, it’s very easy for the unscrupulous to take advantage of the situation, as both of you sadly discovered.

You can report a wicked walking service to the state’s Consumer Affairs office. If money has been stolen, bring a small claim. If abuse has occurred, call the police, the Animal Control office, the MSPCA. However, lodging official complaints probably won’t bring you much satisfaction. Unwalked dogs are invisible on the bureaucratic priority list.

Gather your evidence and contact your neighborhood newspaper. Last year, the Beacon Hill Times ran a story about a dog walking service that, allegedly, neglected to do its job. The response was overwhelming. Letters to the editor flew back and forth for weeks.

There is a group, Pet Sitters International (http://www.petsit.com), which sets standards and accredits its members, but Pet Sitters provides no posting area for abusive outlaws. If you go to the site, you can read the suggested guidelines for hiring a pet minder.

The best you can do is to spread the word through your neighborhood’s dog pack. Dog people talk to each other. They’re always swapping information about the care and feeding of their animals. They also know pooch politics. If a grimy dog walker is working the neighborhood, the dog owner network will mete out its own brand of Dogpatch justice, which usually involves isolating the walker through the grapevine.

Nothing makes Dog Lady foam at the mouth more than hearing tales of deceitful dog walkers. I wish I could name names here and be the hanging judge, but Dog Lady tries to operate with some semblance of journalistic decorum.

Posted by Dog Lady at May 7, 2003 08:38 AM