On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Amy ↗
In their words
Dogs hold a ton of potential to connect us day to day.
We have set prices — the idea being we don't need people trying to make money off of this necessarily. It's an act of generosity, so we keep the cost really low. It's more akin to thanking someone with a cup of coffee.
Ultimately we want people to use Houndr to get off the internet. That's maybe a little bit of an unconventional thing to say, but it's definitely true.
Around the web ×2
Quick answers
Who is Amy Bath?
A co-founder of Houndr, the Toronto neighbour-to-neighbour dog-care app. She opened the company's TechTO demo in April 2019 by introducing herself and Mike Onorati as its co-founders, and CBC and The Globe and Mail both covered the app through her in 2018. No current role is published here because none could be verified from a first-party source.
Where did the idea for Houndr come from?
Her own dog. Bath and Onorati lived in Liberty Village with a chocolate lab and, as she told CBC in May 2018, had a dog walker for the middle of the day but nobody for evenings, weekends and emergencies. She told The Globe and Mail they looked out the window at such a dense neighbourhood and wondered how they had no one to ask in an emergency.
How did the app work?
An owner posts a request with a day, a flexible time window and a note, and the price fills itself in. Houndr then does the knocking on doors: it asks people already in the owner's circle first, then neighbours more widely, and each can simply say yes or no. The list stops at five yeses to spare the owner decision fatigue, and from there the two sides chat and meet in person.
Why were prices kept so low?
Because the money was meant as thanks, not wages. On stage Bath called it closer to buying someone a coffee and said most helpers were giving their earnings to dog rescue. The Globe and Mail reported in October 2018 that owners paid $5 for a half-hour walk, up to $20 a day or $25 for an overnight stay, against traditional services she said started around $18 an hour. Houndr's domain, gethoundr.com, now redirects to a domain broker (checked 12 September 2026).