It’s easy to feel unmoored in Shanghai as a non-local, never mind how long you’ve been here: the city is sprawling, home is often a long plane ride away and whatever your favourite food is, you just can’t get it like you’re used to. Nothing like a furry ball of fluff to assuage all these feels.
Launched last month by US-native Erin Leigh and Swedish Elsa Medin, Spare Leash aims to provide all the services that a pup and a busy (or travelling) owner could need, without cages and with lots of individualised love. And that love has to come from somewhere.
The company originated when Leigh and Medin noticed a need from pet owners for an English language dog walking and pet-sitting service that was flexible, cage-free and didn’t necessarily require dislocating your pet to a foreign setting while you holiday. At the same time, the pair also saw friends who missed having an animal, but didn’t have a Shanghai lifestyle that could accommodate a full-time pet.
Drawing on these pet-loving but-pet-deprived Shanghai ren, Leigh and Medin are building an ever-growing international team of walkers and sitters. The job is flexible and centred around matching compatible walker-sitters with pets and their owners.
Spare Leash services range from ‘check ins’ (60RMB) and dog walking (50RMB for 30 minutes, 70RMB for an hour; 10RMB weekend surcharge) to pet-sitting at the dog’s, or cat’s, residence and boarding at the sitter’s house (both from 150RMB for a day).
If you miss your dog at home – or you’re considering getting one – it’s not a bad way to satisfy your cuddle needs while honing your pet care skills (and make a bit of cash while you’re at it.)
Get in touch with Spare Leash via WeChat (spareleash) or visit spareleash.com for more details. For pet owners, a list of services and prices is also available.
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