This 18-Year-Old Egyptian Girl Just Created a New Dog Walking Service with GPS Tracking in Cairo

Remember all of those times you saw a gorgeous puppy on the streets of Cairo; perhaps a furry Golden Retriever as tall as your hips, or a totes adorbs Pug? Now remember how quickly the peak of your excitement and the accompanying squealing and arm flopping quickly tumbled down as you remembered that you actually can’t shove it under your coat and run home with it? A) because stealing is a crime and B) because your mother will probably go on a melodramatic mind numbing rant about who will feed the dog, and who will walk the dog, and who will teach the dog how to behave. So you continue on with your lonely puppy-less life. 

Now we trust that you can feed a dog, but your mother may have a point about taking it on walks. Walking your dog is just as essential as feeding it. It prevents excessive hyper activity and possible destructive behaviour and you simply can't keep a dog cooped up.

Dedicated dog lover, 18-year-old Mariam El Wetery has just launched On Leash, a professional dog walking service that uses a GPS tracking app where clients can follow up on the whereabouts of their dog. On Leash aims to cater to the busy bees who have a pup - or who want the blessing of having one - but just can’t seem to find the time to take it on the short adventures it needs.

Starting off as a one-(wo)man team in Heliopolis, El Wetery’s service was soon sought after by dog owners across many other suburbs. “I got a lot of requests to walk dogs outside of Heliopolis, so I started a page and began recruiting people and training them on how to professionally walk a dog,” El Wetery tells us.

The stellar 18-year-old took training sessions herself on the techniques of dog walking and dog psychology, skills that she passes on to her new team members once they pass the dog emergency tests she sets up for them. “Many people apply to be professional dog walkers. We are not dog trainers, but I want my team to know how to respond in certain situations to protect the dog. And to also teach the dog how to respond to distractions,” she says. 

Each dog walking adventure runs for 40 minutes, four times a week, in On Leash's one-month package, and the dogs are taught how to behave in certain situations along the journey. They are walked in the area of the resident using a GPS tracker so that the owner can follow up on the trek of their pooch.Check out On Leash on Instagram here and on Facebook here.