PetFam is the latest addition to Vancouver’s burgeoning sharing economy

According to stats published in 2014, 7.5 million households in Canada are home to roughly 5.9 million dogs and 7.9 million cats.

Additionally, in a recent Reddit survey, nearly 70% of 209 pet owners shared that they call on friends and family for pet sitting.

Ironically, the stomach-churning imposition felt when having to ask the same people if they can sit – again – was listed as a top stressor, nearly equal to concerns about possibility of neglect.

Survey feedback also revealed many pet owners opt not to vacation or accept job opportunities involving longer work hours simply because… what about the pets?

With travel just around the corner for the 2016 winter holiday season, pet owners are more challenged than ever to find cat or dog sitting for their precious babies while away.

Enter www.PetFam.com, a Vancouver, Canada based labour of love connecting trustworthy pet parents for free sitting exchange.

Pet owners simply enter their email address to receive a 5 step guide detailing how to carefully vet others to find safe, compatible connections, then click to join other members in a closed Facebook group.

Here they introduce themselves and their pets, describe their needs and geotag their location for easy search. This creates the opportunity to build a ‘petfam’ of other loving pet parents who can be called upon for sitting, thereby reducing incidents of neglect, easing stress and financial burden, and bonding members to their communities.

Since its official launch in May 2016, PetFam’s mailing list has seen over 350 subscribers, with a rapidly growing FB community of over 190 active care sharers at time of press. Members are located internationally, the majority of which are in the Vancouver and Los Angeles areas.

Like AirBnB, Uber and most dating sites, PetFam is a simple sharing economy tool designed to assist people in finding each other to fill a need - in this case, free pet sitting.

Owners who diligently follow the steps provided in the guide discover it is, in fact, easy to protect pets and homes against nearly all intentional harm, in the same ways a parent would check experience and references when hiring a child care provider, or an employer hiring a new company team member.

"Being both a lifelong Vancouver entrepreneur who loves to travel and a rescue-pet owner myself, I carefully began pet care swapping through Craigslist over 10 years ago.", says Adrianna, founder of Vancouver hair product manufacturer Knotty Boy Natural Dreadlock Care.

"Since then, and without incident, I have enjoyed having a 'petfam' of 4-6 loving people I can call on for unlimited sitting of my own special needs pets, including last minute pop-ins or extended in home stays.

We send photos and updates while caring for each others’ cats and dogs to ensure peace of mind, and save hundreds of dollars per year on kennelling or hired pet sitters who may be inexperienced with our particular needs and breeds.

"But the best part? When we fall through our doors, wiped from travel adventures or long working hours to find our little babies fed, exercised and happy, words cannot describe the sense of relief and freedom we feel knowing just a few hours of effort resulted in finding better long term pet care than we could have ever hoped for. For free.

Ultimately our pets are happier, and we are happier."

Brain P.: "Our experience using PetFam has been outstanding, having easily found reliable, trustworthy sitters. Length of time away or our dog's special needs are never a problem. My only complaint is that I think the dog might like them better than us!"

Natalie H.: "I thank you for getting this going. I couldn't have asked for something more perfect than PetFam Pet Sitting Exchange to fall into my lap at the exact moment I needed it. Keep up the good work."