London´s Number One Dog-Walking Agency: A Memoir

" Sparkles with humor, joy and wit. London´s Number One Dog-Walking Agency bounds along with the energy of a rambunctious pup and exudes the wisdom of a beloved canine with an old soul (you know the type)." -- BookPage The irresistibly charming memoir of a young woman who started her own business as a dog walker for London´s busy, well-heeled dog lovers. A true love letter to London, dogs, and growing up. Aside from the odd biter or growler, the occasional bolter and the one dog who didn´t want to walk, the canines were the easy part. They were a muddy, messy joy in all shapes, sizes and breeds, from greedy Labradors to pampered pugs and everything in between. It was the owners who were the real challenge, a giddy mix of the over-protective, the clueless, the eccentrics and the perfectionists. There is no rule book on how to navigate the obsessions of the London dog owner. A degree in human psychology would have been far preferable to any sort of animal qualification. Not that I had either... In 2006, Kate MacDougall was working a safe but dull job at the venerable auction house Sotheby´s in London. After a clumsy accident nearly destroyed a precious piece of art, she quit Sotheby´s and set up her own dog-walking company. Kate knew little about dogs and nothing about business, and no one thought being a professional dog walker was a good use of her university degree. Nevertheless, Kate embarked upon an entirely new and very much improvised career walking some of the city´s many pampered pooches, branding her company "London´s Number One Dog Walking Agency." With sharp wit, delightful observations, and plenty of canine affection, Kate reveals her unique and unconventional coming-of-age story, as told through the dogs, and the London homes and neighborhoods they inhabit. One walk at a time, she journeys from a haphazard twentysomething to a happily--and surprisingly--settled adult, with love, relationships, drama, and home ownership along the way. But, as Kate says, "It´s all down to the dogs" and what they taught her about London--and life.