The sweet life of a New York City dog walker

THEY’RE often portrayed as dishevelled, flustered souls, but for animal lovers this might just be the sweetest gig going.

A dog walker in New York City can earn some seriously good coin.

IN THE movies they’re often portrayed as dishevelled, flustered souls negotiating a tangle of leashes and tails, forever pulling out plastic bags to retrieve poo off the pavement.

Sure, the life of a dog walker might not be the world’s most glamorous occupation, but in New York City, where animal devotion has hit an all-time high, it’s more rewarding than most of us think.

Let’s weigh up the pros and cons:

Pro: You get to spend your days outdoors, exploring with a few four-legged friends

Con: You have to pick up dog poo

Pro: Incidental exercise

Con: This means also braving the bad weather

Pro: The pay, and this is a big one. In the Big Apple, a dog walker charges between $20 and $30, per dog ($A26-$A40), for a 20 to 30-minute walk.

Let’s just let that figure sink in for a minute.

It’s hardly surprising that people are turning their backs on less-than-exciting cubicle life in favour of a more active lifestyle surrounded by furry pals. Nationwide, dog ownership is climbing, fuelled by Gen Y residents who are postponing marriage and childbirth, opting to become “pet parents” instead.

The American Pet Products Association found in its most recent pet-owner study that 44 per cent of American households (or more than 54 million) own at least one dog, up from 38 per cent in 1990. About 50 per cent of residential buildings in NYC today allow dogs, with restrictions on weight and breed.

So it’s easy to see why pet sitting and dog walking has become a booming industry.

CREDIT:SPLASH ONLINE USE ONLY UK CLIENTS MUST CREDIT: AKM-GSI ONLY British actor Daniel Radcliffe is filming a scene on the set of "Trainwreck" in Bryant Park where the young star takes a dozen dogs for a stroll while enjoying a smoke.

Gina, a 23-year-old from Connecticut who moved to New York City last year, started walking dogs with Rover.com in her spare time because she and her boyfriend couldn’t justify owning one in their tiny apartment.

“I always had a dog growing up, and it was upsetting that we didn’t have our own when we moved here. It’s such a rewarding job, it doesn’t even feel like I’m working,” she told news.com.au. “It’s definitely an animal lovers’ dream job. There’s a lot of money in it, in terms of a full time job.”

Gina is currently so in-demand within the Brooklyn area — and earning $15 per dog for a 30-minute walk — that she hasn’t needed to branch out into surrounding boroughs.

“The majority of my clients are probably three to five days a week, every week. Some are every once in a while and some are Monday through to Friday. Some are twice a day!”

Gina says she limits herself to walking three ‘clients’ at one time to avoid mayhem. That’s up to $60 per half-hour, not bad for a part-time gig. What’s more, she only works a few hours each day, totalling less than 20 hours per week.

“[The job] is rain, hail or shine. But it depends on the dog, if they aren’t into the rain, we spend the time indoors at the owner’s house,” she added.

Dog walker on the Upper West Side, New York City, USA

Jordan Kaplan, owner and founder of Petaholics, left behind a career in marketing and public relations to start up his own petcare company back in 2001 and says he never looked back.

He charges $22 for a half-hour private walk and says his part-time walkers earn around $20,000 a year, while maintaining a fulltime job.

“We offer individual service with the same person daily, rather than a revolving door of people in one’s home,” he told news.com.au.

“You are dealing with living, breathing things, not paperwork that can be put aside till tomorrow. So we always walk rain, hail or shine.”

His staff, who typically care for up to four dogs at one time, is made up of a mix of 20 to 40-year-old’s — from graduate students to musicians, writers, artists and bartenders. “People who have non-traditional work hours, since dog walking is during the day,” he said.

Dog Walkers, Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, USA

Some services send their clients daily photos and videos of their pets, as well as having a mobile app where they can track their outings, meal times, even bowel movements.

Depending on the company, various services include overnight dogsitters, doggie daycare, drop-in visits, vet consultations, puppy school, cat care and grooming. Meet and greets are also set up between walker and pooch to find the perfect match.

“Sitters who offer dog boarding as well as dog walking can earn upwards $5000 per month,” Brandie Gonzales, director of communications at Rover, told news.com.au.

“We know busy owners want a dog walker they can trust and someone they can regularly rely on to give them a little more flexibility in their lives. That’s why every sitter and walker has been individually reviewed by our team,” Ms Gonzales said. “The high standards we have for sitters and dog walkers means only about 20 per cent of applications are approved.”

New York, UNITED STATES: A dog walker makes her way up Fifth Avenue under a canopy of trees shrouded by early morning fog, 26 December 2006, near New York's Central Park. Unseasonably warm weather has made it possible for this December to be the first since 1891 without snow in Central Park. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

But what breeds are the most popular when it comes to picking a pooch in the city? Unsurprisingly, it’s all about the poodle hybrids, such as Cavoodles, Maltipoos, Schnoodles and Goldendoodles. Tiny tots such as Boston terriers, Shih tzus, French Bulldogs, Maltese and Yorkshire terrier are firm favourites, while the Labradoodle is on the rise.

2004 : Actor Toni Collette (L) on location during filming of "In Her Shoes". Collette/Actor

Originally published as The sweet life of a New York City dog walker