CLEVELAND — As the population of downtown Cleveland continues to grow, so does the number of pets in need of a walk while their owners are at work.
It’s a pet friendly atmosphere at the Kimpton Schofield. When you walk into the hotel, Theo the dog is sometimes there to greet new guests.
“He kind of just roams. If I’m busy, he’ll go sit and window watch in the windowsill over there. He also has like a cave in the back office that he’ll sleep in. So he’s a good boy for the most part,” said Assistant Front Office Manager Hannah Soltay.
Soltay brings Theo to work just about every day. But she said taking care of Theo while she lived downtown was a challenge.
“And I was in college too, so I would go from my classes to my job here and be like eight hours of him just in my house freaking out about what he’s doing. So that would have been so nice,” said Soltay.
But with the dog walking app Wag!, those who live in the continually growing downtown Cleveland can connect with a dog walker.
At the Kimpton Schofield, the hotel is partnering with Wag! to offer on-property, at-home walks and drop-ins for traveling guests. General Manager Joran Nye said people traveling with pets have become more common.
“People loved traveling with their pets. Through the pandemic, we saw a big increase in people traveling, especially road trips, people traveling with their dogs,” said Nye. “I saw a statistic that one in five people adopted a pet over the pandemic, so I think this fills definitely a need out there.”
Soltay said she believes it’ll go a long way. She said a family recently came to town and reached out during their stay, needing help after leaving their rescue in a room alone.
“He asked us to go up in the room and check on him. Had we have had the partnership, we could have recommended for him,” said Soltay. “I actually ended up going up after my shift and during just to check on him and take him outside.”
But with Wag! available and now hotels stepping in to keep guests’ furry friends happy, pups like Theo can get out and stretch their legs as downtown becomes more and more pet friendly.
“I don’t know if COVID just spiked everyone getting puppies, but they’re literally everywhere,” said Soltay. “Every single day we meet a new friend.”
