Thom McKinney, owner of Dog Day Adventures, walks clients' dogs on the Rillito River path. He helps dogs with busy owners enjoy the outdoors.

Photos by James S. Wood / Arizona Daily Star

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The recent move from Mesa to the Foothills meant no more big backyard for Jet. And he was taking it out on the house.

"He was turning into a miserable dog," Kathleen Donovan said of Jet, her 1-year-old Shiloh shepherd, whom Donovan was no longer able to let outside because her new yard lacks a fence and is a desert landscape full of saguaros.

Donovan said she didn't know what to do until she heard about Dog Day Adventures, a local business that does more than just take Fido for a walk.

Run solely by Foothills resident Thom McKinney, Dog Day Adventures offers dog owners the opportunity to have their pooches get outside on a regular basis and burn off some excess energy.

That's just what Donovan felt Jet needed.

"It's been astounding," said Donovan, who for the past three months has sent her dog off several days a week with McKinney. "It certainly makes a lot of difference with Jet."

McKinney, 49, has lived in Tucson for seven years, but until January he was involved in trucking and construction businesses. His fondness for dogs, however, prompted a career change, and McKinney chose to sell off his businesses to start Dog Day Adventures.

"I decided I had a confidence in what I could do," said McKinney, who is always accompanied on Dog Day Adventure outings by Scout, his 3-year-old black Labrador. "It's real pleasurable work for me, and it's great exercise. I can still afford to eat ice cream in the evenings."

Most outings last about 2 1/2 hours, with McKinney going out three times a day during the week and once a day on weekends to take dogs to places such as the Rillito River Park, local dog parks and sometimes in the afternoons up into the Santa Catalina Mountains.

McKinney said he can accommodate up to five dogs at a time — in addition to Scout — fitting them all into his Saturn SUV. He picks up and drops off the dogs at people's homes, and he says that since his business is licensed and fully bonded and insured, his clients are often comfortable allowing him to enter their homes when they aren't there.

"I think this appeals to people who want to enhance their dogs' lives," McKinney said of his business, which he feels fits perfectly with the growing trend of pet owners spending money — and lots of it — on their animals.

A recent survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Society indicates spending on pets has risen 77 percent over the last decade, from $23 billion in 1998 to an estimated $40.8 billion this year.

Foothills resident Lynne Weinberg heard about Dog Day Adventures while at the dog park at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park one day with Freddy, her year-old Doberman mix. Weinberg said she was about to have surgery, and she was concerned at what her downtime would mean for Freddy's activity schedule.

"He's a young dog, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to take him anywhere," Weinberg said. "It really made me feel better, knowing that he was going to be taken care of."

Weinberg said McKinney brings a certain kind of personal touch to his business, which she feels is important to dog owners. She said he even came to her house to work with her older dog Solomon, a mutt who was "neurotic" about the sounds emanating from her home's air conditioning.

"I think he really has a good sense about dogs," Weinberg said. "I would recommend him to anybody that needs any kind of dog service."

McKinney said he hopes to eventually expand his business beyond its current service area, which is roughly bounded by East Grant Road to the south, the Santa Catalina Mountains to the north, North Alvernon Way to the west and North Pantano Road to the east.

He said once he has built up his client base he will look to hire people to cover other parts of the Tucson area.