From left: Brothers Timothy and James McElroy. Image: HouseMyDog
Europe’s leading dog-sitting platforms find themselves barking up the right tree together.
Dublin-founded HouseMyDog has merged with Madrid-based Gudog, its main European rival, creating the largest platform for dog sitters and walkers in Europe.
HouseMyDog, a former Start-up of the Week on Siliconrepublic.com, is backed by Dublin’s NDRC. The company is the brainchild of brothers James and Timothy McElroy and was founded in 2015. It has offices in London, Dublin and Berlin.
‘We are delighted to be working with a team that shares the same values and vision for the future of pet services in Europe’
– JAMES MCELROY
They had a ‘spark of genius’ moment to start the business when they struggled to find a reliable dog sitter for their family dog.
Two years ago HouseMyDog raised €550,000 in a crowdfunding campaign as part of an overall €850,000 seed round.
The combined company will have a staff of around 21 people and will have 25,000 approved dog sitters listed on its platform across 70 cities in the UK, Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. It plans to reveal a new brand in the coming months.
Woof trade
“We’ve had a close relationship with the Gudog team since we met in 2016. We admire what they have achieved and their passion for the community they have built,” said James McElroy.
“While today’s announcement makes strategic sense in combining our market share to accelerate our growth, we are also delighted to be working with a team that shares the same values and vision for the future of pet services in Europe.”
Gudog is the market leader in Spain, France and Germany, and was founded by Loly Garrido and Javier Cuevas. They will assume the roles of chief product officer and chief technology officer, respectively.
“We are delighted to combine the HouseMyDog and Gudog teams,” said Garrido. “The merger is a natural step as both companies operate a similar model, and the experience and skillset of the teams strongly complement each other. This merger is a big step forward in creating Europe’s most trusted pet services platform.”
