12/09/2022
i’m hanging up my leads.
i’ve made one of the toughest decisions of my life and after 6 years adventuring with east leeds finest canines, i’m hanging up my leads.
i wish i could say i’m doing it on my own terms, but i’ve had an unprecedented amount of dogs leave over the last few weeks and it has just become unsustainable. put it this way, i sent 25 christmas cards this year, but after a combination of retirements, house moves, job changes and people who simply couldn’t afford a dog walker any more, i only had to send 11 resignation letters…
i’ve never really done this for the money. in fact, i’ve earned less than minimum wage since covid. i chose this job because i love it and i wanted to provide a safe and responsible environment to entertain your dogs. in order to sustain this, i’ve been VERY picky about the dogs i walk. all my dogs are impeccably behaved, a pleasure to be around and a real credit to their owners. unfortunately, now that everything costs twice as much as it did a year ago, it’s no longer sustainable to do the job just because i love it.
i have no doubt i’ll look back on these last 6 years as the most satisfying and fulfilling days of my life. it’s been an absolute pleasure to be a part of all of the dogs lives and not only that, the owners too. i’ve met some amazingly, kind and generous people on this journey and genuinely felt part of the families of so many.
i hope this isn’t the end of any of those relationships and i look forward to bumping into any of the dogs i’ve served over the years on walks in the future. hopefully, it’ll be a slow motion gallop over a spring meadow while soft, uplifting music plays in the background 😂
i’ll make sure these last couple of weeks are the most fun we’ve had yet.
thanks for everything and all the best
joey
