Deirdre and Oscar

Dog-owner Deirdre signed up her dog, Oscar, to help with this separation anxiety. As she says, “I thought it would be good for him to have experience spending time with someone else. Oscar is with me constantly as I don’t work. Finding someone to spend time with him through BorrowMyDoggy has given me more freedom to go out and see friends.” What's more? Her borrower, Alice, lives only a two minute walk away, which makes the match extremely convenient for everyone. Read their story here.

What has been the biggest benefit in joining BorrowMyDoggy?

The biggest benefit of BorrowMyDoggy is being able to share Oscar with someone who has a love of dogs and can’t have one. It’s lovely watching someone else get some pleasure out of spending time with him and he loves it, too. I know he’s happy with our borrower, Alice and it’s great because he gets some extra love.

Tell us about your match.

Alice lives only a 2 minute walk away, which is absolutely perfect. It seems so funny that we have to go on a website to find each other when we only live round the corner from one another!

Alice has been borrowing Oscar for a few months now and she sees him on a weekly basis, sometimes twice a week. It’s an ad hoc arrangement, Alice is a music teacher so she works in the afternoon and evenings. She texts me to let me know when she’s free and then takes him out in the mornings.

Why did you sign Oscar up to BorrowMyDoggy?

I signed up to BorrowMyDoggy because Oscar has severe separation anxiety so I thought it would be good for him to have experience spending time with someone else. Oscar is with me constantly as I don’t work - he comes with me to the shops and in the car. Finding someone to spend time with him through BorrowMyDoggy has given me more freedom to go out and see friends. I was looking for someone who would be interested in taking him out on a couple of mornings so they could get the same enjoyment out of him that we do. I wasn’t looking for someone to take Oscar for pet sitting because he didn’t need that.

Tell us a bit about Oscar…

Oscar is a character and a half with a mohawk haircut! He’s a cross between a Jack Russell and a Shih Tzu. I’ve had him since he was 8 weeks old and he’ll be three in January. Absolutely everybody loves him and he’s fantastic with other dogs, too. To be honest, he’s absolutely spoilt rotten!

How do you and Oscar get on with Alice, Oscar’s borrower?

Alice is absolutely lovely and I know that Oscar adores her. I can’t even say her name in the house without him going crazy! He does the same when he hears her voice over the intercom!

Would you recommend BorrowMyDoggy to friends? What would you tell them?

I’ve told loads of people about BorrowMyDoggy. My advice to any owners signing up is to do what I did - meet with borrowers a few times, go to their home and really get to know them. You’ll know yourself when you meet someone if you and your dog are comfortable.

Describe your BorrowMyDoggy experience in one sentence.

BorrowMyDoggy is a very positive experience and I’ve been so lucky to meet Alice. I would highly recommend it.