Today we'd like to bring you the story of borrower, Lara, who signed-up to BorrowMyDoggy with her boyfriend. Lara grew up with dogs and is now working full-time on London, so she was looking for some pooch time, and her casual arrangement with Wendy and her Miniature Schnauzer Alfie suited everyone very well :) Lara and her boyfriend plan on getting their own dog one day, and we're so happy that they chose to sign-up to BorrowMyDoggy in the meantime.

How are you getting on with your new furry pal?

My boyfriend and I have been looking after Alfie the Miniature Schnauzer and we love it. Wendy, his owner, and I have a pretty casual arrangement. We keep in touch during the week and I look after Alfie whenever we’re free and Wendy is happy for us to have him.

It’s great looking after Alfie, I’m always so excited to see him. We like to take him on lots of long walks, and to Borough Market - he loves it because it’s busy and there are lots of delicious smells! In the evening he sleeps whilst we watch TV and then he stays over and Wendy picks him up the next day. We get such a positive reaction from people when we’re out and about. When we tell people that we borrow Alfie through BorrowMyDoggy, so many people say it’s exactly what they’ve been looking for, I’ve even put a poster up at work.

Why did you sign up to BorrowMyDoggy?

My family always had dogs when I was growing up and I really badly want one now, however my boyfriend and I both work full time so it would be unfair. I first read about BorrowMyDoggy in the Emerald Street newsletter and signed up straight away. I thought to myself - “this might work” - and it has, perfectly!

Tell us about your Welcome Woof?

I added Alfie to my favourites as he was close to where my boyfriend and I live and he seemed like the perfect match for us, availability and size wise. When I heard from Wendy, Alfie’s owner, I was so excited! We messaged back and forth through BorrowMyDoggy before exchanging numbers. Following some texts we decided to go on our ‘Welcome Woof’. My boyfriend and I met Wendy and Alfie at our local railway station, then walked back to her house for a proper chat and a cup of tea.

On our next meeting, Wendy came to see our house so she knew where Alfie would be staying when we looked after him. Everything went really well and we all got on, so Wendy asked if we’d like to look after Alfie the following weekend.

What's the one thing you would tell other potential borrowers about BorrowMyDoggy?

You always have a choice. You can go and meet with an owner (and their dog), and if you don’t think it’s going to work out then that’s fine. Be honest.

What has surprised you most about borrowing a dog?

I hadn’t had a dog since I was little so initially I was a little anxious, but it was like riding a bike - you remember immediately! We were going to get a dog of our own and now we are in no rush. For now BorrowMyDoggy is the best option for us.

What one word do you associate with BorrowMyDoggy?

Happy!

We have Alfie's owner Wendy's pawsome Waggy Tale too!