Ansela / Who it’s for / Dog walkers and pet sitters
For dog walkers, pet sitters and kennels
Four on the lead and the springer’s in the brambles. She takes the enquiry.
Ansela answers in your name, takes the dog, the area and the days, books the meet-and-greet into your diary, and passes on the “no walk tomorrow” calls.
£1.99 your first month, including VAT, then from £99 a month + VAT. 60 minutes in month one. No contract.
Set up in about 15 minutes.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
Is there an answering service for dog walkers?
Yes. Ansela is an AI phone receptionist for dog walkers, pet sitters, kennels and catteries. She answers in your business’s name while you’re out with the dogs, takes the dog, the area and the days, books the meet-and-greet into your Ansela diary, and passes on messages from owners. Plans start at £99 a month + VAT.
01
The call she took while Matt was in the woods with four dogs
A Monday morning enquiry. The caller can’t decide how many days, mentions the pulling halfway through, and still gets a meet-and-greet in the diary.
Example call; Hilltop Dog Walking and the caller are made up.
This call may be recorded. Thank you for calling Hilltop Dog Walking. Please hold for a moment while I connect you.Recorded, and played before she picks up.
Hilltop Dog Walking, Ansela speaking. How can I help?
Hi, I’m going back into the office and I need someone for my spaniel, three days a week. Well, maybe two, my partner’s home Fridays. Sorry, I’m thinking out loud.
That’s fine. Shall I put it down as two or three, and Matt can sort it out when he meets you?
Put three. Better safe.
Thanks. Which area are you in? Can I take your postcode?
OX4 3AB. Off the Cowley Road.
That’s in Matt’s area. He likes to meet the dog first. He can come Tuesday at six or Thursday at seven.
Tuesday. Is it alright that Rufus pulls a bit? He’s a cocker, he’s eighteen months.
I’ll put that in the note so Matt knows before he comes. Can I take your name?
Hannah Okafor.
Thanks Hannah. Matt will meet you and Rufus on Tuesday at six.
02
What she does for a dog walker, and what she won’t
She works from what you tell her: your areas, your walks and visits, your prices and when you do meet-and-greets.
- New enquiries and meet-and-greets, booked into your diary with the dog, the days and the postcode.
- “Do you do solo walks?” and “Do you cover Headington?” answered from your own list.
- Boarding and holiday dates, taken down for you, or booked if you’ve said what’s free.
- “No walk tomorrow, he’s at the vet,” from owners you already walk for, passed straight on.
- Can be set to steer keys, alarm codes and access to you. It’s a rule you set: she asks the caller to cover that with you at the meet-and-greet.
- Won’t give advice about a dog’s health or behaviour. She notes what the owner says and leaves it to you.
- Won’t guess. If she doesn’t know, she takes a message and says so.
03
What happens when a dog walker can’t answer the phone?
You’re in a field with four dogs on leads and one of them has found something dead. You can’t answer, and you shouldn’t. But the person ringing has often just been told they’re back in the office on Monday and needs someone fast, so they try the next walker on the list.
It isn’t only new owners. Clients you already walk for ring to say there’s no walk tomorrow because the dog is at the vet, or to change the day. Those need passing on before you set off, not found on your phone that evening.
04
What does an AI receptionist ask someone who wants a dog walker?
The dog’s name, breed and age, the postcode so she can say whether you cover the area, which days they want, and whether it’s a solo walk or a group. If the owner mentions that the dog pulls or is nervous with other dogs, she writes it in the note so you know before the meet-and-greet.
For pet sitting, kennels and catteries she takes the dates, the number of animals and what kind. She books them if you’ve told her which dates are free, and otherwise passes the request to you. Prices only if you’ve given her them.
05
What about keys, alarm codes and access?
Callers sometimes start telling her where the spare key is, or reading out an alarm code. That is sensitive, and you can set a rule for it: she stops them politely and asks them to go through it with you at the meet-and-greet.
Recordings and transcripts go to you, and anything said on a call ends up in them. Keeping codes off the phone in the first place is safer than relying on how you store them afterwards.
06
Can she book meet-and-greets and boarding into my diary?
Yes, into your Ansela diary, which you can see and change from your phone. You choose the times you do meet-and-greets, and she offers those. She doesn’t connect to any other diary or app, so if you use one for your rounds, check both.
She doesn’t give advice about a dog’s health or behaviour, and she doesn’t take payment. If a question isn’t in what you’ve given her, she takes a message and says so.
Plans start at £99 a month + VAT: see what each plan includes. Paying a per-call service now? See how Ansela compares.
07
Where the phone usually is while you’re out with the pack
We built Ansela because we kept ringing tradespeople who couldn’t pick up, and then booking someone else. She isn’t a call centre. She answers in your name, says what you’ve told her to say, and writes down what the caller wanted.
If she gets a call wrong, forward us the recording.
Ansela[email protected]
08
How do you set up Ansela?
You choose a plan before your number goes live.
For dog walkers, pet sitters and kennels: keep your current number and divert it to Ansela, or take a new UK business number for your website and cards, or use both.
- Give her your website or your Facebook page. She reads it and comes back with your areas, walks and prices for you to check.
- Pick a voice and try her. Have the spaniel call above with her yourself, in your browser, before she takes a real one. Try telling her where the spare key is.
- Divert your mobile. We give you a UK number. One short code diverts your mobile to it when you don’t pick up. Another turns it off.
09
What does Ansela cost? Three plans, no contract
Starter is most solo walkers and sitters. Team when there’s a second walker with their own round.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
| Plan | A month + VAT | Minutes | Calls at once |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterSole traders, one or two vans | £99 | 600 | 1 |
| TeamDiaries for up to 10 people | £279 | 1,800 | 3 |
| ScaleSet up with you, not self-serve | £499 | 3,500 | 3 |
Minutes are time she spends on the phone with callers. Extra minutes are 20p each, up to a limit you set.
First month £1.99 including VAT, with 60 minutes, on Starter. Card needed; nothing else to pay in month one. Cancel from your billing page and it stops at the end of the month you’ve paid for. Plan prices exclude VAT.
Not VAT-registered? With VAT that’s £118.80 a month on Starter, £334.80 a month on Team and £598.80 a month on Scale.
Scale is set up with you. Need her plugged into your own systems? Talk to us about Enterprise.
10
Questions dog walkers, pet sitters and kennels ask
Owners tell her where the spare key is. Is that a problem?
Set her to steer key and alarm talk to the meet-and-greet. Transcripts sit in your account for you and the people you give access to, so treat them like your client records.
Can she answer for a kennel or cattery?
Yes. She takes the dates, the animals and the owner’s details, and books them if you’ve told her which dates are free. Otherwise she passes the request to you.
Can she book boarding over Christmas?
She takes the dates and passes them to you, or books them if you’ve told her which nights are free.
I’m out from nine till three. Can she just cover then?
Yes. Turn the divert on when you set off and off when you’re back.
Do I have to change my number?
No. We give you a UK number and you divert your own to it with a short code (codes by network). Turn the divert off whenever you like.
What is a minute, and can she take two calls at once?
A minute is time she spends on the phone with callers. Starter includes 600 a month, extra minutes are 20p each up to a limit you set, and Starter takes 1 call at a time. A caller who rings while she’s busy can leave a voicemail, which doesn’t use your minutes.
Is there a contract, and what happens after the £1.99 month?
No minimum term. After the first month it carries on at your plan price plus VAT unless you cancel, which you can do from your billing page at any time.
Keep walking, she’ll take the call.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.