Anyone can earn $100 in New York: it does not require a higher education or even special skills

Dressed in black leggings and a puffy jacket, 35-year-old Bethany Lane walked down Bleecker Street in Manhattan with a flock of three Goldendoodles and one Burndoodle named Tinkerbell. They stuck their noses into the Whalebone store to buy goodies and then trotted along the Hudson River Park and took pictures with several tourists. An hour later, Lane drove them home to a stately townhouse owned by a professional couple in their 40s who made their fortune in real estate. New York Times.

“My job is to keep dogs happy when their owners are busy,” she said. I am in love with these dogs. They are like my children.”

Lane started walking dogs 11 years ago, after graduating from Rutgers University. She moved to New York to pursue a career in public health. “I had to pay my rent and student loans. So I went to Craigslist,” she said. I saw that someone was paying me to walk the dogs. For an animal lover, it was perfect.”

As business took off, she founded Whistle & Wag in 2014 as a pet grooming boutique in the West Village. At one point, she worked 12-hour days. She was able to pay off her student loans and hire other walkers.

Now, nearly three years after the pandemic began, she can't keep up with demand. After raising prices (offering one client $35 a walk) and attracting dozens of new clients, she made six figures last year.

On the subject: New York bans sale of dogs, cats and rabbits

She feels quite confident in business. So last summer I bought a weekend home in Tuckerton, New Jersey. “It's a three-bedroom house, but it has a very nice yard and it's on the bay,” Lane said. She lives with her longtime partner in a two-bedroom rented house in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. “I can go to any restaurant whenever I want. I can go on vacation. I was very lucky. If I told myself that I could make a living looking after dogs, I would never believe it,” she adds.

Being a dog walker is lucrative, especially for entrepreneurs who serve the wealthy

While a search on Rover and other job search sites turns up beginner dog walkers in Manhattan who charge as little as $14 for a 30-minute walk, experienced walkers with wealthy clients charge nearly three times as much. They earn $100 or more a year.

More than 23 million American families purchased a dog or cat during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. With so many Americans back in the office, someone has to walk all those pandemic puppies.

“Before the pandemic, I would get a call from a potential new client once or twice a month,” Lane says. Now I get several calls a week. That's a lot."

Dog walking has traditionally attracted those looking for a stable job. But at the same time he had the opportunity to engage in other hobbies. It was an attractive job for actors, musicians, writers, students, retirees, parents staying at home, and those who have not yet decided what they want to do.

The rise in the number of pet owners, coupled with the boom in pet grooming, has turned dog walking into a business. These are not only standard walks, but also more upscale services aimed at city dogs. For example, nature hikes, day trips to farms, training camps, and dog spas.

Among those eager to seize the moment is 34-year-old Michael Josephs. He is a former special education teacher in Brooklyn who trained Willie, his black mixed-breed Labrador, in Prospect Park after school. “After three months I could ride my bike to the park and he would run after me,” he said. “People saw our understanding and asked me if I could train their dog.”

In 2019, Josephs decided to leave his teaching job and start Parkside Pups, charging $20 for a 30-minute group walk. Within a month, he had about eight clients. He worked about five hours a day and earned about $30 a year.

Business ground to a halt during the 2020 pandemic, but then revived

“We were great in 2022,” says Joseph, who lives in Middletown, New Jersey. “Before, we mostly took clients in downtown Brooklyn or in the Prospect Park area. We are now seeing dogs in areas where there were none before. For example, in Deetmas Park and Windsor Terrace.”

Parkside Pups now offers puppy training ($60 for one hour), babysitting ($65 per day) and 15-minute puppy checkups ($12). Last year, revenue was over $100, according to Joseph.

Joseph's wife, Clarissa Soto, helps him with the business. And the couple is considering expanding the business to a dog garden in the Prospect Park area and an overnight camp in western Connecticut. “The most important thing for us is financial security for our son,” Soto said. “We have a savings fund set up for him, we have a college fund.”

They also have more free income. “We just spent a whole family vacation at Disneyland,” Josephs said. - We went to Miami, were in Canandaigua for a wedding. We can fork out."

Some dog breeders are doing so well financially that they are back to their passion projects.

Maren Lavell, 28, an aspiring filmmaker from New York City, went into the Big City Woof Walker dog walking business with a college friend in 2017.

At first they worked eight hours a day, walking 15 to 25 dogs a day and earning $15 per walk. It was hard work. Endless hours of cleaning up poop and catching barking dogs. But they made enough money to own their own business and hire about 10 walkers. Although the company closed for several months during the pandemic, business has never been better.

Now they have about 700 clients, and about 25 dog walkers work in New York. And also 13 other walkers in Chicago, where they opened a second branch. To cater to the puppy boom, the company also offers socialization training. “Many of the puppies affected by the pandemic have not even received a basic level of socialization,” Lavelle says. “They are afraid or react to every sound or movement because it is new to them.”

Lavell feels quite confident financially. So she returned to film making a short horror film set in upstate New York. “When the business took a lot of energy from me, and the pay was not so much, it was difficult to give my energy to cinema,” she says. “Now my husband and I have a production company.”

“These films cost money to make,” Lavelle added. “It’s great that I can successfully walk my dog ​​and have a creative career.”