7 tips to get the most of out of pet sharing

Congratulations! You have heard about Share My Pet, NZ’s premium pet sharing website. Go you for enriching a pet’s day!

So you’ve made your profile, added your photo (or that of your pet). You are excited and ready to meet some members and make a match! Once you have written a few messages to other members we understand it can be disappointing to not get a reply straight away. Why have you not had a reply, where is this furry friend you are dreaming of?

In order for pet sharing to work you need to be active, engaged and willing to put in the mahi. Much like joining the gym but never actually going, pet sharing isn’t going to bring you the results and solutions if you don’t use the (messenger) system to make contact with other members.

Here are our top 7 tips for getting the most out of being a member

• Check your messenger system regularly, new members are joining up all the time. Keep a regular eye on your messages and reply to everyone. Log in often and check out new members so you won’t miss out on making a perfect match.
• Upgrade to paid membership. To make contact with other members you need to be a full member. We think the set fee is extremely good value for 1 whole year of pet sharing. Broken down weekly payments equals less than the price of a cup of coffee per week.
• Reach out to members. Once paid, the messenger system is unlocked you can now use the messenger system to make initial contact with any other local members. Unlimited access to the messenger system for an entire year is granted to paid members.
• Be clear and specific about what you want to get out of pet sharing. Stay local, the less distance between you and your potential match the better. The success rate of pet borrowers and pet owners that are close to each other is so much higher.
• Be very honest and mindful about the time and regularity you to can commit to. Pet sharing is based on love and willingness to spend time with a pet or arrange a pet borrower to become involved in your pet’s life. Life is busy so for pet sharing to best work everyone involved needs to show some commitment. It takes time to build up the trust and relationships between the pet, the pet owners and yourself.
• Communicate clearly before you meet up discuss in detail how the pet sharing will work. Points to consider include-what days might suit you both, if the pet is good with other animals and children. Think about the distance and who will be dropping and picking the pet up, is this sustainable long term? Discussing these points can save everyone valuable time and disappointment before you meet up.

• Be Patient- finding the right pet or pet borrower can take time (it can also happen almost immediately). There are lots of factors involved in finding the right match. After all, we all have our different personalities, expectation and routines. Once you have found the perfect match you will know it!

Sharing our experiences with you

Dave and I founded Share My Pet in 2019. Since then we have learnt and reflected a lot on what elements make pet sharing work. We have been actively sharing and borrowing pets for over 4.5 years now. We hope our tips help you to pave the way for a long and happy pet sharing journey. Footprints of happiness start when you first join up. By committing to the effort and time involved to build up the connections of trust and love these foot and pawprints lead to new friendships, smiles and happy furry buddies.

Found your match? We woof that!

There is literally nothing more Dave and I love than hearing about happy dogs and family pets matching up with new human friends. Please share your happy experiences with us and other kiwis. It can be a simple review on our Facebook page. Or e-mail to us with a few words about your positive experiences info@sharemypet.co.nz. As a small business that has yet to make any money these are the golden nuggets that keep Dave and I going.

Helping us to spread the word about pet sharing is also an incredible way to help grow the pet sharing community throughout all of NZ. Together we can reach more pet parents and animal lovers in NZ and enrich more lives.