Toronto resident creates 'Zoomies', an initiative that walks dogs for vulnerable owners
The COVID19 Recovery team had a chance to chat with Jasper Newton, founder of the volunteer group named ‘Zoomies’. Restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic have become problematic for the vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals who need to walk their dogs. To combat this issue and continue providing care for their dogs, a number of Toronto residents use Zoomies to match dog-walker volunteers with the dogs. Here is Newton’s story on how Zoomies came about.
Image credit: Jasper Newton
Image credit: Jasper Newton
1. What inspired you to create your initiative?
Zoomies was created out of a combined desire to help during the COVID-19 pandemic and a strong love for animals. I was inspired by the growing number of volunteer initiatives that were popping up in response to the pandemic, but after doing some research I noticed that there was an evident lack of initiatives aimed at supporting pet owners, specifically. Realizing this void, I decided to found my initiative, Zoomies, which offers free, ongoing dog walking support to those struggling to safely walk their dogs at this time.
2. Why do you think it’s important to have volunteers walking the dogs for the owners?
As we are all aware, the novel coronavirus poses an additional threat to some members of society (in particular, seniors and the immunocompromised, but this can be extended to anyone who would be especially affected by becoming ill, such as single parents, those who are pregnant, those with disabilities, and more). While it is important for everyone to remain vigilant right now, those who are at higher risk are having to take additional precautions, which often means not leaving their home. Similarly, our incredible frontline workers are working extreme hours, often under unimaginable stress, which can make some short on time and energy to devote to tasks outside of work.
So now we have a subsection of the population who are unable to either safely leave their home or are overworked and exhausted but still have dogs who need attention and exercise. On the reverse side, we have a large number of people feeling particularly isolated and lonely at the moment who are in need of safe companionship. This leads to a perfect match where those who want the time with a dog can help to walk one on behalf of an owner who cannot safely do so.
3. How would you describe the relationship between dogs (or any pets in general) and the owners during this COVID19 pandemic compared to before?
Most owners are particularly grateful to have the companionship of their pets at this time. In fact, there have been numerous stories of animal shelters being completely emptied as so many people are adopting pets to curb loneliness. While this seems like fantastic news, one unfortunate thing to consider is that there will likely be a surge of pets who are returned to the shelters following the pandemic, as new owners return to work and realize that they may have misjudged the time commitment a pet would require. Zoomies is hoping that we can provide a solution for those in need of animal interaction, without the long-term commitment.
4. How do you find your volunteers and match them to the dogs? Also, how do you decide which volunteer applicants are the most suited for the role?
Both dog owners in need of assistance and volunteers are required to follow a registration process wherein they are asked a multitude of questions regarding their dog(s) (in the case of owners) or their availability and comfort/experience with various aspects of walking a dog (in the case of volunteers). Once we have a dog owner who has registered and is looking for assistance, we sort through our database of volunteers to find a suitable match. A number of metrics are considered when selecting a volunteer match. First and foremost we must find a volunteer who lives within a certain radius of the owner. Then, we must look at who would be best-suited given the availability the volunteer indicated and the size of the dog, the frequency of walks required, and the length of walks required, amongst other factors. We do our best to consider all the important details and make the most optimal match possible.
Image credit: Jasper Newton
5. Do you have any success stories from Zoomies you would like to share?
Zoomies has been so lucky to have such a supportive response from the community, which means that we have many, many wonderful success stories!
One in particular that stands out is a woman who had been left to care for her son's dog as he had been stuck in quarantine elsewhere. The dog is a large male Great Dane x Rottweiler mix who pulls strongly on the leash and the woman, who experiences a physical disability, was unable to walk the dog. Having been confined indoors for so many weeks, the dog began to go stir-crazy and became depressed. We were able to find a volunteer to walk the dog and instantly his behaviour improved and he returned to his old, happy self!
On another occasion, we came across an 87-year-old woman living in downtown Toronto with her little Scottish Terrier. The woman was extremely distressed that she had been unable to take her dog out for the exercise he needed. We were able to match her to a volunteer in her area who stops in a few times a week to give her dog some much-needed time outside and the woman has been so relieved!
6. How successful has Zoomies been so far?
We have been so grateful to the community for showing us so much support right off the bat! In the few short weeks since our launch, we have had hundreds of volunteers register from all across Southern Ontario. We have managed to match dogs to volunteers in six major cities and every day we are seeing more and more registrants coming in, allowing us to widen the area of which we can service!
7. What impact do you think Zoomies has had on your community as a whole?
I believe that Zoomies has helped to better unite our community. Any time we, as people, help those around us, we garner insight into the difficulties others face and grow more compassionate. With Zoomies, this compassion is able to grow mutually between volunteers and dog owners. On one hand, volunteers are able to witness the difficulties and fear that some of our high-risk community members are facing, or are able to better appreciate the intensive work our frontline workers are doing. On the other hand, dog owners are able to see and understand how some volunteers are so desperately craving companionship and the joy it brings them to spend time and bond with a dog. Getting first-hand insight into each other's struggles has helped to harvest mutual empathy for those we share our community with.
8. What advice do you have for people walking their dogs while keeping the social distancing rules?
Zoomies has an extensive list of precautionary guidelines we provide to both volunteers and dog owners to ensure that the process is done as safely as possible. While the full list is available on our Facebook group page (facebook.com/groups/zoomiesdogs), and will also be available online once we launch our upcoming website, in brief, we advise on various safety measures regarding hygiene, the use of PPE, social distancing, and safe dog handling protocols. We also recommend that dogs from different households not be walked together to minimize any risk of viral transmission between the dogs' fur and that volunteers limit physical contact with the dogs as much as possible. Anyone who would like to view our complete guidelines is encouraged to do so on our Facebook page.
9. How long do you plan on continuing this initiative and do you plan on expanding it to other cities/regions?
Because of the fluidity of the situation, it is difficult to firmly project where the initiative will go. Our current plan is to continue expansion, certainly across Ontario, but hopefully to other provinces as well. We plan to keep Zoomies running for the duration of the pandemic, assuming that future changes to government mandates during the state of emergency don't inhibit it.
At this time, the Zoomies’ mission is to offer assistance to dog owners specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the pandemic, it should once again become safe for those owners who are currently high-risk to return to walking their dogs themselves. Similarly, frontline workers will return to a more typical schedule and their need for dog walking assistance will dwindle. As it stands, once there is no longer such a prevalent need, Zoomies will make plans to dissolve the organization as we do not wish to take business away from professional dog walkers who depend on the income. However, for now, we remain committed to assisting those dog owners in need of help and will continue to do so for many months to come.
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Thank you Jasper for giving us the opportunity to share your story! Check out Zoomies on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/zoomiesdogs