Friday, June 7, 2019

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: People that fall outside the boundary are people who travel with their pets, drop their pet off at someone else’s house, board them; already have someone to check on them; and cat owners. One person I spoke with travels with his dog, and another has his housekeeper check on his dog while he is away. Because of the convenience, I believe they fall outside of the boundary. They are not in need of a pet sitter because they are already paying someone or are able to take their pet along with them. I also spoke to a dog owner that drops off her dogs at a kennel to board while her and her family are away. She expressed she doesn’t mind dropping them off because she feels he is in good hands. I spoke to a married couple that drops their dogs off at a family member's house because the dogs are comfortable there and they do not have to pay. Lastly, I spoke to a cat owner who has a neighbor that stops by to feed him and scoop his box; She stated that she was okay with leaving her cat by himself because cats are more independent than dogs. 
What: The need I originally identified was that the cat population needs to be controlled by spaying and neutering. Of course, this can only happen if people go outside and upfront costs at their own risk and trap them, or another organization does it themselves; but there aren’t enough organizations or resources to contain it. If using a one-to-one business model by spaying and neutering a cat or dog from pet sitting jobs, my main need doesn't directly need to be supported from clients. 
Why: Some people are willing to spend extra money for an overnight pet sitter knowing that their pet can stay in the comfort of his or her own home. The people outside the boundary are primarily concerned about costs or already have arrangements for when they travel.
Inside the boundary
Outside the boundary
Pet owners that want someone staying in their house.
Pet owners that do not need a pet sitter.
An overnight pet sitter to care for the animal(s) and maintain the house (mail, plants, etc.).
They do not need a sitter because they have other arrangements and do not want to pay the costs.
The need exists because some people may not want to drop their animal off at a kennel.
Cat owners because cats do not require as much care and attention as dogs. 

3 comments:

  1. Hey Savannah! Really like how you formatted your post so that it's concise and to the point but also highlights the hypothesis. I like how you applied crowd sourcing to pets and came up with a pretty novel idea.

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  2. Savannah,
    Your post is really well formatted and appears well thought out. I think you have a tough issue to solve, but it sounds like you're on the right track. In my personal opinion, having a separate organization to handle the service sounds like the best way to go about it.

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  3. Savannah,

    I feel the issue of cats being spayed and neutered is a difficult one to tackle. I like how you identified those that have the need but don't fall into the same category. Down where I live its overun by strays and I think this service is something people don't realize has such a big need.

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