MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2023
Airbnb for dogs: Sniffspot app lets pet
owners rent backyard for off-leash play
By SARA EDWARDS
The Press Democrat
Residents of Sonoma and Napa counties
are making some extra money by renting
out their backyards and open space to dog
owners throughout the North Bay area
using an app called Sniffspot.
David Adams, co-founder of Sniffspot,
said there are nine active listings in Sono-
ma and Napa counties, with the highest
earning spot topping out at just over $2,000
a month.
Alison Klahr, a Petaluma resident,
joined Sniffspot back in February and saw
an immediate rush for bookings from dog
owners looking for a safe place to let their
dogs off-leash.
Her listing is a fully fenced, 2-acre prop-
erty in northern Petaluma with a walk-in
dog pond that she says has made her listing
very popular.
She’s made around $9,000 so far through
her bookings.
“We’ve been slammed,” Klahr said. “I
have to block off time during my day just
so my dogs can come out.”
Klahr has had around 400 reservations
for her backyard since she signed up as a
host on Sniffspot. She said the majority
of her guests come from cities like San
Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley.
“There are no yards anywhere in that
area so they (dog owners) will drive up to
Bette Vasquez, foreground, and Colleen Simmons used the Sniffspot app to book playtime for their
dogs in Alison Klahr’s Petaluma backyard for a few hours on Aug. 10.
us to have this experience,” Klahr said.
“It’s amazing to see how many people re-
ally need places for their dogs. … It’s been
such a joy to be able to do this for people.”
Victoria Petersen joined Sniffspot last
January. She has a fully fenced, 2-acre
property in Santa Rosa and puts the money
made from bookings into maintaining the
property.
She said most of the dog owners that
book her space are local and are looking for
a place where their dogs can be themselves.
“I love (being on the app) from the per-
spective of helping the dogs,” Petersen
said. “I would say 99.9% of the folks who
come just love their dogs and want to be
able to have a good time with them without
hassle.”
Sniffspot was created by David and Re-
becca Adams, who have two dogs of their
own, Soba and Toshii. David said they were
having a hard time finding a place to let
their dogs off-leash and had not had great
experiences at local dog parks.
“I’d had my dog (Soba) for a year and I
would take her on walks and all kinds of
different things to help her enjoy her time,
and I didn’t really know the alternative,”
David said.
“I would take (Soba) to the dog park and
it was pretty dirty, people didn’t always
pick up after their dog and there were a lot
of dogs that made it not a great experience
for the other dogs.”
PHOTOS BY JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Sniffspot allows users to rent out areas for dogs
to romp.
There are many reasons dog owners
don’t feel comfortable taking their dogs
to a dog park. While dog parks can be a
great way forpets to socialize and get some
energy out, some dogs just don’t get along
with others,and some owners worry about
injury, illness or bad interactions.
Many dog parks also don’t segregate
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dogs by size, leaving owners of smaller
pets with limited options when it comes
to giving their dog off-leash time.
David and Rebecca launched Sniffspot
in 2018 and based the model for the app off
Airbnb. Dog owners interested in booking
a space can use the app to filter for specific
locations, such as spaces with a pool or
agility equipment.
All of the bookings are private, with only
the dogs listed on the reservation allowed
during the allotted time. There’s also a
required half-hour break in between book-
ings so owners arriving and departing with
their pets can do so without interruption.
Sniffspot also runs checks on hosts and
their spaces before allowing them to list on
the website, such as validating addresses
and locations to ensure legitimacy.
“We have people booking large meetups
or people doing training sessions,” David
said. “The people that use Sniffspot are
crazy about their dogs and that’s still
true today.”
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