Snif fspot

With more than 36 off-leash dog parks to explore, Phoenix is one of the most dog-friendly cities in Arizona. But for canines that are reactive, fearful, shy, or protective—or for people who do not have yards of their own—having a private, off-leash place to play can feel like paradise.

Enter Sniffspot. It works like an Airbnb for dog parks and has 13,000 locations across the United States. From a private back yard oasis to dog water parks and parks for agility, Sniffspot is designed with diversity in mind. “No spot is one size fits all. You can literally rent a private beach to go to with your dog,” said founder David Adams.

Problem—solution

In late 2017, Adams and his thengirlfriend, now wife, Rebecca Sheppard, founded Sniffspot. Adams had grown tired of walking his dog, Soba, 45 minutes each way from his apartment in Seattle to the nearest off-leash dog park. Meanwhile, Sheppard was traveling with her dog, Toshi, back and forth from Seattle to Baltimore for her job. Deemed “a complete nightmare,” Sheppard had to walk Toshi on a leash around the outside of the airport hotel at odd hours to get him to go to the bathroom. She didn’t let him off-leash as she was scared he would chase deer and run away. Frustrated, Sheppard texted Adams, “I know there has got to be a better way. I wish there was an app where I could find places to let Toshi off-leash.”

Sniffspot was born because the modern world is not built for dogs. “Dogs were designed, they evolved, and they were bred to live in places that were wide open, where they could be out in the wild and run free,” Adams said. “Now they are living in apartments, and they are living on leashes. It is causing all kinds of health problems for dogs. There is obesity, reactivity, and anxiety. Sniffspot is the antidote for that.”