Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

What Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking does

Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking is a Charlotte, NC-based pet care services company founded in 2010 by Terry Richardson. The company provides three core services to residential pet owners: dog walking, in-home drop-in pet sitting (20 to 90 minutes), and overnight pet sitting. Operations were delivered by an employed team of insured, bonded, and background-checked pet sitters and dog walkers serving approximately 14-18 neighborhoods across the Charlotte metro area, including Ballantyne, Carmel, Cornelius, Davidson, Dilworth, Elizabeth, Huntersville, Myers Park, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, South End, South Park, University City, and Uptown. Services were available 365 days per year, from 6AM to 11PM daily, with a stated office support window of 9AM-5PM. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and the model was subscription/recurring in nature on a pay-as-you-go billing cadence.

The underlying technology stack prior to July 2024 included Time to Pet for online scheduling, auto-scheduling, calendar management, payroll, and client communications (including report cards and visit notes); Breezy for multi-channel recruiting across Glassdoor, Google Jobs, WayUp, JobRapido, and ZipRecruiter; and Acutrac for background checks during hiring. Service operations used GPS tracking and live text alerts as part of every visit, with photo report cards delivered to clients after each visit. Marketing was conducted primarily through local SEO with neighborhood-specific landing pages, a content blog, and organic social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.

On July 15, 2024, after 14 years of independent operation, owner Terry Richardson retired and Little Friends merged into Swifto Dog Walking & Pet Sitting. All pet sitters, dog walkers, and office employees transferred to Swifto, and all client, pet, and schedule data was migrated to Swifto's platform. Post-merger, the Charlotte operations run on Swifto's online platform and mobile app (iOS and Android), with self-serve booking, GPS tracking, live text alerts, and a transparent pricing policy that eliminates miscellaneous charges for weekends, holidays, last-minute bookings, key exchanges, or messes. The Little Friends website now functions primarily as a local marketing presence pointing customers to the Swifto-platform-delivered Charlotte service. No funding rounds or investor capital are disclosed in the source data.

Name

Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

Legal name

Little Friends Pet Sitting

Website

https://littlefriendspetsitting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking is a Charlotte, NC pet care services company that provides dog walking, drop-in pet sitting, and overnight pet sitting to residential pet owners across 14+ Charlotte metro neighborhoods. Founded in 2010 and merged into Swifto in July 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Care Services

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Drop-In Visits (Feeding, Water, Litter, Potty Breaks) (HSANAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dog Walking Add-On (Scheduled Walks During Sits) (HSANAEAD), Live-In In-Home Pet Sitting (24/7 Presence) (HSANAEAC)

Keywords

• Dog walking services
• Pet sitting services
• In-home pet care
• Overnight pet sitting
• Pet care Charlotte

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Pet Sitting Services: In-home pet sitting including drop-in visits (20-90 minutes), overnight stays, and extended live-in care. Revenue generated per visit or per service type.
2. Dog Walking Services: Dog walking services with daily, weekly, and custom scheduling options. Customers choose service times that work for them.
3. Transparent Pricing Model: Swifto's transparent pricing policy with no miscellaneous charges for weekends, holidays, last-minute bookings, key exchanges, or big messes. The price shown is the price paid.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Little Friends provides in-home pet care services in Charlotte, NC, including dog walking, drop-in pet sitting (20–90 minute visits), and overnight/live-in pet sitting. Services are delivered year-round (365 days, 6AM–11PM) by insured, bonded, and background-checked sitters across 14+ Charlotte neighborhoods, with GPS-tracked walks, live text alerts, and photo report cards enabled by the Swifto platform. Following the July 2024 merger with Swifto, the brand continues to operate as a local client channel for Swifto's Charlotte operations.

Product overview

Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking operates as a pet care service provider offering three core services: Dog Walking, Drop-In Pet Sitting, and Overnight Pet Sitting. Originally an independent company founded in 2010, Little Friends migrated to the Swifto platform in July 2024. The company provides in-home pet care throughout the Charlotte, NC metro area including Ballantyne, Carmel, Cornelius, Davidson, Dilworth, Elizabeth, Huntersville, Myers Park, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, South End, South Park, University City, and Uptown. All services include GPS tracking, live text alerts, photo report cards, and 365-day availability. Pet sitters are insured, bonded, and background-checked.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dog Walking Professional dog walking service in Charlotte, NC with customizable daily, weekly, and custom schedules, GPS tracking, live text alerts, visit reports with photos, and consistent walker assignments, delivered by insured and background-checked staff.
• Drop-In Pet Sitting In-home pet sitting service offering 20- to 90-minute drop-in visits including feeding, medication administration, playtime, and status updates, keeping pets in their familiar home environment.
• Overnight Pet Sitting Extended live-in pet sitting service including morning and evening walks and feedings, overnight stays, and continuous companionship, designed for extended travel periods.

Quantifiable outcome

• Services provided 365 days a year including all holidays
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Swifto Dog Walking & Pet SittingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 July 2024As of July 15, 2024, Little Friends officially merged with Swifto Dog Walking & Pet Sitting. All Little Friends pet sitters and dog walkers transferred to Swifto, and Little Friends office employees continued operations locally alongside Swifto management. The merger was initiated after owner Terry's retirement after 14 years of service. All client data, pet profiles, and preferred sitter information were migrated to Swifto's platform.
• SwiftocoreTechnology or IntegrationSwifto provides the technology platform for scheduling, GPS tracking, client communication, and payment processing. Little Friends is locally operated and empowered by Swifto.
• Time to PetcoreTechnology or IntegrationTime to Pet is the online scheduling software used for client bookings, auto-scheduling, staff calendar management, payroll processing, and client communications including report cards and visit notes.
• Business Insurers of the CarolinasminorOthersLittle Friends pet sitters are insured and bonded through Business Insurers of the Carolinas, providing liability coverage for services provided.
• AcutracminorOthersBackground check company used during the hiring process to vet potential pet sitters and dog walkers before employment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TrustedHousesitters: House- and pet-sitting membership marketplace that competes for overnight and live-in pet care demand. Comparable as an alternative channel for the same in-home pet care use cases Little Friends addresses.
• Swifto: Parent company of Little Friends post-July 2024 merger, and the most directly comparable peer: a tech-enabled pet sitting and dog walking operator using GPS tracking, mobile apps, and transparent pricing — the same model Little Friends now operates under in Charlotte.
• Dogtopia: Multi-location dog daycare, boarding, and spa franchise. Comparable as a competing destination for working pet owners weighing daycare vs. walks/sits in the Charlotte metro.
• Rover: Largest marketplace for pet sitting, dog walking, and boarding in the US. Comparable as an alternative channel pet owners consider when choosing between an employed-staff operator like Little Friends and a gig-sitter marketplace.
• Camp Bow Wow: Multi-unit dog daycare and boarding franchise with national presence. Competes for the same daytime and overnight pet care spend that Little Friends addresses through drop-in and overnight visits.
• Wag!: On-demand dog walking and pet care marketplace serving major US metros including Charlotte. Competes for the same discretionary pet care spend with a fundamentally similar service offering.
• Best Friends Pet Hotel: Multi-location pet hotel and daycare chain offering boarding, daycare, grooming, and training. Overlaps with Little Friends' overnight and extended-stay use cases for pet owners traveling or working long hours.
• Pet Suites: Multi-location pet resort chain offering boarding, daycare, and grooming. Comparable as a competing facility-based alternative to in-home pet sitting services in metro markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/littlefriendspetsitting
• Instagraminstagram.com/littlefriendspetsitting
• Xx.com/littlefriends3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/little-friends-pet-sitting-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Little Friends Pet Sitting and Dog Walking