Back at the beginning of the worldwide pandemic in the spring of 2020, my wife Lauren and I were already feeling the effects of a seemingly endless quarantine. Like a lot of people, we were feeling down and disconnected from friends, family, and the city we live in. We had reached our limit of Zoom calls and Netflix shows and the only way we knew how to dig ourselves out of the rut we were in was to make a big change in our lives. The two options that we considered were either a new car or another sibling to our furbaby, Dexter. Lauren and I looked each other in the eyes, channeled our inner Donna and Tom from Parks and Rec, and in unison shouted “Treat Yo’ Self”!

That’s right, we decided to get both a new car and a new dog. That’s where the idea for Dog Hop was born. Once we found the breeder of the dog that we wanted, we had a conundrum on our hands. With the breeder several hours drive from us, we had no good solution for getting our new pup. The cargo bay of an airplane was out of the question, regardless of price, and a shared van was something we decided we wouldn’t do either after reading horror stories of such trips on the internet. We ultimately decided to each use a personal day from work and we both made the long roundtrip haul. This was our first time getting a dog as a puppy, and as you might expect, we were thoroughly unprepared for the ride home. Many liquids were expelled onto our car’s upholstery (and Lauren’s lap), and the ride home was loud and the opposite of smooth. 

We started Dog Hop because we wish there had been a service like this that existed for us in that time of need. If a reputable private pet transport service had existed near us, we would have been willing to pay almost anything to avoid the situation that we ultimately found ourselves in. We have built Dog Hop to be safe, accommodating, and hassle-free. When you book your pet’s transport with us, you know that you are working with real people, real pet lovers, that would go out of their way to help any animal, just like yourself.  I’m so glad that you found us here at Dog Hop, and we look forward to helping service your pet transport needs.