Two Toronto neighbours handing over a dog's leash at golden hour, the golden retriever waiting between them

Now in Toronto · Invite only

Localpetcaringnetwork

Join Tailmate, a local community of pet lovers. Exchange care, earn credits, and build friendships.

Find Tailmates

Or join the waitlist in your neighbourhood.

$0 raised

For local pet rescues

The premise

Yourneighbours'pets.Yoursparehours.Nomoneybetweenyou,onlytime.Thisishowaneighbourhoodtakescareofitself.

A neighbour laughing on a Toronto porch as a black-and-white dog leans in for a kiss — Your neighbours' pets

How it works

CareforalocalTailmate.Earntimebackwhenyouneedit.

Two neighbours exchanging a dog leash on a Toronto doorstep

Step 01

Sign up and meet your Tailmates

ID, address, and vet record checked once. Then a quick Meet & Greet with anyone you'd sit for.

~ 4 minutes · invite only

A woman walking two dogs down a golden Toronto street

Step 02

Sit, walk, host. Earn Tail Credits.

1 credit per hour, 4 for a dog walk, plus 6 for each overnight. Multi-pet bonus when it's already a full house.

Earn ~28 credits a week as a hybrid worker

A neighbour reading at night with a cat asleep against them

Step 03

Spend credits when you need care

Need a midday walk on office days? A weekend away? Spend only the credits you've collected. No invoice, no daycare fees.

Average wait to find care: under 90 minutes

Step

010203

/ 03

Noinvoices.Nosurgefees.

Twocurrencies.Onerule.

The ledger

Two currencies.One rule.

Tail Credits · for owners

Earned giving care.Spent receiving care.

1 credit = 1 hour of care at your home

Day careper hour · 7am to 7pm+1
Walk a tailmate's dog30 to 60 min+4
Overnightpast 7pm+6
Last-minute requestunder 12h notice+5

Credits never leave the community, can't be bought, and have no cash value. The only way to get them is to give them.

Impact Hours · for Pet Lovers

Every hour you givesends 10 cents to a partner shelter.

Tailmate's gift, in your name

You walk, sit or visit a petWe count each hour once the owner confirms.
Tailmate gives 10 cents per hourTo a partner shelter, on the 1st of every month.
You see what your hours did“Your 25 hours in September sent $2.50 to a partner shelter.”

MembershipalwaysFree

Hours are not money and cannot be spent or transferred. We count up to 50 hours per person each month. Tailmate's Pet Lover fund this year is $250 a month for all Pet Lovers together.

They never mix. That's the point.

Find your fit

Three kinds of tailmates.Same neighbourhood.

A healthy Tailmate community needs a mix. Each archetype solves a problem the others can't.

A hybrid worker at his desk with a golden retriever asleep in the sun

Starring

The hybrid worker

You're WFH 3 days a week with your dog. Office the other two. Sit a tailmate's pet when you're already home, and earn credits for the walks you'll need next week.

A weekend earner at home on the sofa with her two cats

Also starring

The weekend earner

You're in the office Monday to Friday. Daily care is sorted, but trimming 1 to 2 daycare days a month would be a win. And weekend sitting is free money, you're home with your pet anyway.

A retired Pet Lover greeting a jumping terrier in a Toronto park

And introducing

The Pet Lover

You don't have a pet, but you have time, and you'd love to spend it walking dogs. Every hour you give counts as Impact Hours. Tailmate sends 10 cents per hour to a partner shelter, in your name.

Casting now

Which one are you?

Every founding cohort mixes all three. Claim a spot and your neighbourhood opens sooner.

Toronto · launching now

Thefirstfourneighbourhoods.

We grow one neighbourhood at a time. Each starts with around 20 founding members: a mix of hybrid workers, weekend earners, and Pet Lovers. Add your name to the waitlist.

Suggest a neighbourhood

Loc. 01Open

The Beaches

Founding cohort

Loc. 02Open

Birchcliff

Founding cohort

Loc. 03Filling

Leslieville

Founding cohort

Loc. 04Soon

Regent Park

Waitlist open

Membership

Freetostart.

No commission, ever. The only money on the platform is the membership fee.

Most chosen

Member

$10/month · $80/yr

$80/yr · save $40 · Cancel anytime · Secure checkout by Stripe

Unlimited bookings & messaging
Full Tail Credit ledger & history
Reviews after every exchange
Priority support & incident protocol
No commission on any exchange, ever

Become a member

Register

$0/forever

Look around before you commit

Profile creation & verification
Browse the neighbourhood directory
Earn starter Tail Credits (25)

Create a profile

Pet Lover

$0/forever

No pet of your own, plenty of time to give

Sit dogs & cats, earn Impact Hours
Every hour you give sends 10 cents from Tailmate to a partner shelter
Meet the pets in your neighbourhood
Personal annual impact report

Join as a Pet Lover

Trust isn't bolted on

Six layers, before a single sit.

Email & phone confirmed

A confirmed email address and phone number before anything else.

Address & vaccination records

Required for in-home or overnight bookings, reviewed before activation.

Mandatory Meet & Greet

A short in-person or video intro for the humans and the pets.

Reviews

Ratings and completed sits, visible to your tailmates.

2-hour incident protocol

Documented response if anything goes wrong, Trust team review within 24 hours.

Annual impact report

Credits exchanged, hours given, animals helped.

Bruno and his dog Diego side by side at a table, Bruno smiling at him — Bruno & Diego · since 2021

Our story

It started with a dog who can't fly.

Hi, I'm Bruno. This is Diego, my best friend.

I adopted him during COVID, in 2021, and since then we've had some incredible adventures together.

But because of his size, I can't fly with him. And I travel a lot, for work and for fun. So every time I go, I have to find someone to look after him.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very lucky. My family and friends love Diego, and they're always willing to help. But I feel bad asking, over and over. And it's always the same people.

This is something I've struggled with for years. And I'm not the only one.

Every pet owner who travels, goes to the office, works long hours or just needs a hand: we're all facing the same thing. And nobody understands that better than another pet owner, because we know it's never “just a dog.”

That's where the idea came from. We're all in the same boat. So why not help each other?

I look after your dog when you're away. You look after mine. Easy to ask, easy to say no, no pressure either way. And it runs on credits, so it stays fair for everyone: you give a hand, you get one back. And the more our community grows, the more everyone gains: more people to count on, more pets who get to stay in a real home with someone who cares, and nobody who has to feel bad for asking.

That's why I created Tailmate.

For Diego, honestly. But also for me, for you, for your dog or your cat, and for everyone who loves spending time with the best creatures in this world.

— Bruno, founder · Toronto

Become a Tailmate

Care,traded.Notsold.

Invite-only at launch · No money between members · Pet Lovers free, forever

Founding members keep a permanent badge and 20 bonus credits. Your neighbourhood opens once enough verified tailmates have joined.