The written history of the human-canine bond dates back over 15,000 years when they were first given jobs as therapist-assistants by Boris Levinson, widely considered the father of assisted pet therapy. Since then, dogs have been working hand-in-hand with humans across a wide range of occupations spanning everything from hunting and farm herding to helping the disabled and elderly, and even medical and police work.
Today, many of the jobs that dogs once held no longer exist at a scale that can accommodate the ever-growing canine workforce, and many dogs live without jobs entirely. Before we created DogJob, we discovered that our dogs, Cisco and Olive, were actually work dogs biologically, but we weren’t sure what their jobs were. After speaking with many other dog owners, we realized that this was a common problem, and decided to embark on a journey to help dog owners across the globe answer the question: what does your dog do when it goes to work in the morning?
Through extensive research over the course of 2 years, and significant trial-and-error, we were able to develop proprietary technology that solved their problem. After finding out what Cisco and Olive’s jobs were, we were able to help them prepare for work with proper training and attire, and more delicately managed their rolodexes by identifying the most complementary doggie play dates for targeted networking. Cisco now has developed a deep passion for geological research and works part-time as a research assistant at UC Berkeley’s School of Natural Resources, and Olive is quickly rising the ranks of the business world as a senior food testing associate at Kibble.
Because of the impact we were able to have on Cisco and Olive, we wanted to share our technology with the world in the hopes that we can help other dogs discover their passions and join the workforce. And with that, DogJob was born.
