美国遛狗业务蒸蒸日上

As many sectors of the US economy continue to stray, one industry is booming, dog walking. One pet lover who has a passion for dog walking is taking a big bite of this growing business, saying he can earn upwards of 140-thousand US dollars a year.

Roy Aviles has always made a living pursuing his passions. First it was tattoos, then it was cooking and now it’s dogs.

"I have 300 clients and over 300 dogs," said a dog walker named Roy Aviles.

Following his heart has paid off. He bought into a dog walking business about 15 years ago for 80,000 dollars. It currently has 26 employees.

"It’s a profitable business every profitable," Aviles said.

Despite growing competition, Roy says he has an annual salary of more than 140,000 dollars. That’s after expenses.

It’s an attractive sum but dog walking is not for the faint hearted.

"My job could get very dangerous. Everyone thinks it’s just walking, picking up poop, that’s it. No. It gets to a point where you have dogs that you can’t even leash and it’s my job to actually put a leash on them. Nicely and do it where no one gets hurt," Aviles said.

In order to be a successful dog walker you have to be good with dogs and with humans. Establishing trust with dog owners is crucial. After all, many refer to their pets as their babies and they are not taking any risks.

"I love Huck and I wanted somebody wonderful to spend time with him and not just anybody," said Deborah Schwartz, a dog walker.

Huck is Deborah Schwartz’s first dog. He’s a rescue. Roy offers a discount for rescues but that’s not why she chose him.

"Roy handles him differently than I do and I like that. I mean I baby Huck and Roy is the guy with him and I like that. I like how he treats him," Schwartz said.

Roy has learned to handle all kinds of dogs. Big and small. It’s challenging at times but he wouldn’t chose to do anything else.

"I have a passion for cooking but my love is animals. I do what I can for them and this is it," Schwartz said.

It seems that sometimes following your first love can pay off.