Marty Sampson is a pet owner like millions of other individuals. His dog Wally is like a member of the family. However, sometimes life gets in the way.
One day, Sampson and his wife Kate were both rushing to get to work and didn’t have the time to take Wally to day care.
This led them to create Leash, an animal driving service. The Nebraska-based company officially expanded to the Tampa Bay area market this week.
It already has a presence in Kansas, Missouri, Arizona and Iowa. In two weeks, the business will begin operations in Texas as well.
According to Marty Sampson, the concept is simple. Pet owners can download an app and book one-way or roundtrip rides for their animals. Currently, the organization is serving dogs and cats. They can be taken to day cares, pet resorts, veterinarians’ offices, grooming salons and other locations.
“It’s about making pet care more convenient for pet parents,” he explained. If some owners have a lack of transportation, the service can help ensure that their animals’ needs are met.
“Most of our clients find out about us through our partner base,” Sampson said. “We partner with pet care businesses and then that enables those businesses to offer pet pickup and dropoff through us.”
He added that a driving service can help pet owners and the companies. They lose “potential revenue” when individuals do not have the time to take their animals to appointments.
All of Leash’s drivers are current or former pet care professionals.
They have to have “direct experience” with taking care of animals, Sampson said. The Leash team reviews their relevant work. Many of these individuals are groomers, day care attendees or long-time volunteers with a humane society.
Candidates also participate in pet-handling assessments. Additionally, background checks are performed on every driver.
Leash has also created a protocol to ensure the safety of the animals. For example, dogs are harnessed and attached to a seatbelt tether.
The bay region is Leash’s first entry into the Florida market.
“We were looking at launching in a central Florida city and Tampa Bay was very attractive to us just from a growth perspective,” he explained. The “large pet ownership demographics” and “huge number of pet care businesses” were key factors.
Pinellas County will play an essential role in the company’s Florida expansion. Leash has already formed partnerships with Advantage Pet Center (Largo) and Bay Paws Pet Resort (Clearwater). He added that the organization is in talks with other businesses in the region as well.
Leash has employed about five drivers in the St. Petersburg area so far, Sampson said. The goal is to get “more activity” in the local market over time.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
