Chicago - August 18, 2004

Out of Town?

WatchDogs Dog Service

Smarty left the big city for the suburban American Dream. Lush greenery. Backyard barbecues. Good public schools. Parking at every strip mall.

Smarty forgot the commute would be hell, the neighbors would have lacy curtains (and — gasp! — doilies!), and there’d be no midnight Chinese takeout. Worst of all? No damn dog walkers. (Do those Stepford pups walk themselves?)

Down, girl. WatchDogs caters to North Shore hounds — and the owners who love them. They offer a variety of at-home services for every kind of pooch: daily walks for latchkeys, extended vacation care, and regular pop-in visits (so Fluffy has company when Mom’s out carpooling). Miraculously, they’ll even do basic home chores like getting the mail, taking out the garbage, and watering the plants.

Sadly, they can’t do a thing about your overly friendly, tuna-noodle-casserole-bearing neighbors.

But you’re the genius who moved here.

WatchDogs (847-877-3004 or watchdoggies.com).