London, 2006. Is dog walking a proper job? Kate thinks so, but not her mother or her colleagues at Sotheby's, who see Kate as a tall, gangly, butterfingered and clumsy person, but nothing more than that. Kate agrees with them, in her own words, she is “congenitally uncoordinated, committedly scruffy and not at all suited to the old school poshness of the place, despite having the ‘right kind of background’ and the right pronunciation of ‘escritoire’ and the prerequisite qualification in art history from a prestigious university”. I think I've known a few Kates in my lifetime, and they have always been fun to be with.
Kate is bored, feels conned by post-graduation working life and wants a change. She meets Dan and Crumpet, a dog he is walking for a friend, at a friend's barbecue. This small and unpredicted event serve as a catalyst for her “spontaneous and unpredictable career shift”. Kate swaps her back-office assistant job in the antiques department to invest in a career as a dog walker.
Macdougall’s takes us through the main character’s journey of building career in the Dog Walking world, spanning a good 7 years. It is a clever device to explore serious life questions in a lighthearted way.
Kate is a very likeable character, as well as boyfriend and future husband Finlay. I was fully invested in their journey, the more dogs she walked, the better we get to know Kate herself and the dog families she interacts with. And the savvy she grew in her business, the more tenacious and rife her competition became, not to mention the customers, those become more discerning, shrewd and demanding.
It is a genius set up. It gives the writer plenty of material to create a stinging satire on London social politics. Whatever happened to the normal families? The 2.4ers, who ate beans on toast in places like Hammersmith and Tooting? In Kate’s eyes they seem to have all disappeared. London was shifting. Every dog in London’s N. 1 Dog Walking Agency exposes us, warts and all, to their families most inner secrets and fears. Here, we meet the pocket loft-living, the corporate ladder-climbing couples, dysfunctional same-sex couples, extravagant and self-centred, self-entitled, young upcoming professionals, lonely busy folk and their extremely lovable dogs in London, from Greenwich to Vauxhall.
This is a contemporary, fast paced city-living adventure, with plenty of dog walking induced introspection. It's hugely entertaining, and the settings are very recognisable and nicely depicted.
Kate Macdougall London's N.1 Dog Walking Agency is funny, smartly observed, sometimes exaggerated, with a very positive, heart-warming message.
Kate is bored, feels conned by post-graduation working life and wants a change. She meets Dan and Crumpet, a dog he is walking for a friend, at a friend's barbecue. This small and unpredicted event serve as a catalyst for her “spontaneous and unpredictable career shift”. Kate swaps her back-office assistant job in the antiques department to invest in a career as a dog walker.
Macdougall’s takes us through the main character’s journey of building career in the Dog Walking world, spanning a good 7 years. It is a clever device to explore serious life questions in a lighthearted way.
Kate is a very likeable character, as well as boyfriend and future husband Finlay. I was fully invested in their journey, the more dogs she walked, the better we get to know Kate herself and the dog families she interacts with. And the savvy she grew in her business, the more tenacious and rife her competition became, not to mention the customers, those become more discerning, shrewd and demanding.
It is a genius set up. It gives the writer plenty of material to create a stinging satire on London social politics. Whatever happened to the normal families? The 2.4ers, who ate beans on toast in places like Hammersmith and Tooting? In Kate’s eyes they seem to have all disappeared. London was shifting. Every dog in London’s N. 1 Dog Walking Agency exposes us, warts and all, to their families most inner secrets and fears. Here, we meet the pocket loft-living, the corporate ladder-climbing couples, dysfunctional same-sex couples, extravagant and self-centred, self-entitled, young upcoming professionals, lonely busy folk and their extremely lovable dogs in London, from Greenwich to Vauxhall.
This is a contemporary, fast paced city-living adventure, with plenty of dog walking induced introspection. It's hugely entertaining, and the settings are very recognisable and nicely depicted.
Kate Macdougall London's N.1 Dog Walking Agency is funny, smartly observed, sometimes exaggerated, with a very positive, heart-warming message.