We have gyms, food trucks, and apps for pets. T’was only a matter of time till someone built an Uber for pets:

• Rapid Paws works just like Uber. You launch the app, drop a pin on your location, and a truck will be along shortly to pick your pet up.
• Pet owners typically use the service to deliver their cats and dogs to vets or groomers.
• The vans themselves come with cameras so anxious owners can keep an eye on their best friends while they travel.
• It sounds like a service for the idle rich, but some of its users rely on their pets as service animals, but due to disabilities, can’t transport their animals.

Read more at The Washington Post

And check out our entire series on Pet Perks.

Stephen Hayward was responsible for the latest addition to Centives’ long running series on Pet Perks:

• A pet food maker has developed a waterproof remote control that dogs can slobber over and use.
• When pressed, the buttons on the remote make low frequency squeaks (in addition to controlling the TV), which will encourage the pooch to test out the remote.
• The makers note that the average pet hound now watches more than nine hours of television a week, and deserves some agency.

Read more here. And if you’re worried about your best friend turning into a couch potato, you can always take it to the gym. You can read our coverage on other services available for pets here.

Source: Irish Mirror

Remember that gym membership you signed up for but never use? If it’s any motivation, Steve Hendrix writes that there are dogs that have a more disciplined work out regime than you:

• Frolick Dogs Canine Sports Club is a 6,000 square foot air conditioned facility with personalized dog trainers.
• The trainers will help get your pooch in shape by having them run on doggie treadmills.
• There are also doggie balance balls so your pet can work on its core.
• All of this costs $50 a month.
• Pet owners argue that in the summer it’s dangerous for their dogs to run around in the heat, and so an in doors facility is a necessity.
• Others say that it’s a good service for elderly pet owners who may no longer have the energy to keep up with their pets’ outdoors lifestyle.
• Like their best friends, dogs vary in their degree of motivation. Some will run on the treadmill for fun. Others require a treat be held just out of reach to encourage them to keep going.

   

Read more about the gym here. And find our entire series on Pet Perks which includes coverage of doggie love motels, doggie restaurants, and doggie tattoos over here.

Source: The Washington Post

Darlene Superville wrote about Bo and Sunny, the first pets of the White House:

• The pets are celebrities in their own right and have schedules that are emailed to them (well, their handlers anyway) every month.
• Engagements can include anything from greeting White House visitors to cheering wounded soldiers.
• With celebrity comes danger, of course. In January a man was arrested for coming to the capital with the intent of dognapping one of the pets.
• Presidential pets have a storied history at the White House – George H.W. Bush’s pet dog, Millie, even published a book while in the White House titled, simply, “Millie’s Book”. It became a best-seller.

Read about the responsibilities that the Obama dogs have taken on, and the lives of other Presidential pets over here. And read our series on Pet Perks here.

Source: AP

Manual Valdes wrote about the latest innovation in the world of food trucks:

• The Seattle Barkery caters to the dog loving people of Seattle.
• The brightly coloured food trucks offers “pupcakes”, air-fried chicken feet, and peanut butter banana cookies.
• Some confused humans have tried buying some of the food for themselves and have been a little…surprised by the result.
• There’s probably little need for heavy advertizing. Once a dog gets their first taste they’re likely to make a dash for the truck the next time they detect its presence.

Read more here. And read about other Pet Perks that Centives has covered in the past here.

Source: AP

Zlata Rodionova wrote about pet dogs that manage to earn more money than most people on this planet:

• If an individual’s dog has 100,000 followers on Instagram, then they can be expected to earn about $2,000 for every public appearance the pet makes.
• The growth in earnings seems to be substantial. Get 150,000 followers and your pooch’s time is worth $3,000.
• The top hounds can pull in $15,000 a month for their owners, letting them quit their job.
• In addition to appearing at promotional events, pets can endorse certain brands. One rescued puppy named Toast modelled a diamond necklace and Marchesa gown for a wedding registry site.
• It’s not all about personal profit. Some dogs give back to the community. Chloe, a French Bulldog, for example, used her second birthday party to have a raffle where proceeds went to the Humane Society of NY.
• Brands for their part seem to want dogs to endorse their products because dogs make people happy and they’re hoping that their brands achieve the same emotional connection.

Read more and see multiple other fascinating examples over here.

Read our entire series on Pet Perks here.

Source: MSN

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the growth in earnings was exponential. User below pointed it out.

The Week wrote about what it was like to be a Royal Pooch:

• The British Queen’s corgis are fed by the Queen one by one, in order of seniority.
• Each one receives an individually prepared meal tailored to their specific tastes.
• Meals could include fillet steak and chicken breast, along with herbal and homeopathic supplements.
• Despite all the pomp and circumstance, the dogs’ obliviousness to the Queen’s status seems to be part of their appeal to her.
• She’s always had corgis, although doesn’t intend to get any new ones, as the 89 year old monarch doesn’t want her pets to have to deal with the trauma of losing her.

Read more about the life of a Royal Hound over here. Read our entire series on pet perks here.

Source: The Week

Alice Truong wrote about a customer segment that is often overlooked by the marijuana industry: pets.

• Anecdotal evidence suggests that dogs respond well to the pain soothing effects of weed.
• This is backed up by scientific research which shows that mammals usually have cannabinoid receptors.
• However while some American states have medical marijuana laws, vets still can’t prescribe the drug.
• If this were changed then it could be a boost to the legal weed market which is expected to have $10 billion in sales by 2018.
• Some companies are working around the regulations. One company is unable to label its marijuana laced doggie treats as ‘organic’ since that’s a federally regulated label. Instead its advertising promotes it as “organic-like”.

Read more about the business, its challenges, its future, and other details here.

Centives has some other fun coverage of pet perks here.

Source: Quartz

In our ongoing series on Pet Perks we’ve covered their Facebook accounts, an airline for them, and even canine love motels. Anna Fifield wrote about the kinds of perks that Japanese pets get:

• As in the United States there are more pets than children in Japan – about 4 million more.
• Instead of getting married people are getting pets – causing the fertility rate to drop to 1.4, and the number of weddings to lows not seen since the end of World War II.
• The pets get pampered. Vendors sell cakes and pastries that both master and pet can enjoy.
• Such pastries may come with calorie labels to ensure that household animals keep to a balanced diet.
• Concerned owners can purchase $400 basinets for their pets. For that price you can get features such as air filled tires and wind guards.
• Groomers will also offer aromatherapy, reflexology, and massages to pampered pooches.

Read more here. And see the rest of our series on Pet Perks here.

Source: The Washington Post

Rupert Neate wrote about the booming business of flying pets around the world:

• Flying a pet from one country to another normally costs as much as a business class seat for a human passenger.
• In the European Union it is possible to get ‘pet passports’ which make it easier to move pets around.
• A fair amount of the demand comes from customers who go abroad, fall in love with a street animal and try to bring it back – only to find upon arrival that the animal must be quarantined, something that costs up to £2,000.
• People are discouraged from trying to transport hamsters. A four month quarantine is required, and hamsters only live around two years, meaning that it’s not worth the cost.

Read more about celebrities who take their pets with them on vacation, how the rise of the BRICS is causing business to boom and more over here. Check out the rest of our series on pet perks here.

Source: The Guardian