AUSTRALIA'S MOST-LOVED PET CARE COMMUNITY
Built by a pet lover.
Run by Australians.
For Australian families.
Wagly was created because the people who needed it most couldn't find what they were looking for — quality, verified, passionate pet care close to home. No overseas owners. No US boardroom. Just a genuine Australian team who love animals.
Australian owned
Built by a breeder
Pet industry software
Verified carers only
Why Wagly exists
Australia's leading pet platform was just sold to a US corporation.
That's why we built this.
What happened in November 2025
Mad Paws — Australia's leading pet care marketplace — was acquired by Rover, a Seattle-based US corporation.
In one transaction, the platform that hundreds of thousands of Australian pet owners relied on became a subsidiary of the world's largest pet care company, operating across 16 countries from a boardroom in Washington State.
The decisions about how Australian pet carers are paid, how Australian pet owners are protected, and how the Australian market is served are now being made overseas. Wagly exists because Australians deserve a local alternative — one that puts Australian pet owners, Australian carers, and Australian animals first. Always.
"Pet care is deeply personal. The person who walks your dog knows your street, your dog's favourite puddle. That relationship is local. It always will be. And it deserves a platform that is local too."
Meet the founder
Debbie Mewes — breeder, builder, founder.
Debbie Mewes
Founder, Wagly · Creator, The Petpreneur Platform
Wagly was founded by Debbie Mewes — and if you want to understand why Wagly is different from every other pet care platform in Australia, you need to understand who Debbie is.
Debbie is not a tech entrepreneur who spotted a gap in the market. She is someone who has spent decades immersed in the world of dogs — as an owner, as a breeder, as a competitor, and as someone who has built the tools the pet industry actually needs.
She has whelped litters, she has stood in the show ring. She knows the 2am whelping watches, the precision of neonatal puppy care, the need to find someone to watch puppies while she worked, and the immense responsibility of breeding dogs that will go on to be loved by families across Australia. Debbie has been involved in her beloved breeds of Newfoundlands and Afghan Hounds for years.
The Journey
Decades of dogs. Then the technology
Then WagLy
The Beginning
Nefoundlands & Afghan Hounds - Breeding & Showing
Debbie began breeding and showing Newfoundlands and Afghan Hounds — some of the most demanding breeds in the dog world. She learned what genuine animal expertise looks like: the whelping watches, the litter rotation, the show ring preparation, the lifelong commitment to a breed.
The Platform
The Petpreneur Platform — built for the pet industry
Debbie created The Petpreneur Platform — purpose-built business management software for pet care professionals. Groomers, walkers, sitters, boarders, and trainers used it to manage bookings, clients, and operations. Building it gave Debbie something most marketplace founders simply don't have — a deep, technical understanding of how pet care businesses actually work.
November 2025
Rover acquires Mad Paws — the gap becomes clear
The acquisition of Australia's leading pet care marketplace by a US corporation created an obvious need — a locally owned, quality-first Australian alternative with genuine pet industry expertise behind it.
Today
Wagly — Australian pet care, built from the inside out
Wagly launched as the Australian-owned, quality-focused alternative. Every service, every verification process, every technology feature reflects decades of lived experience in the pet industry — not a business plan written by people who have never whelped a puppy.
The technology edge
We didn't just build a marketplace. We built the tools that make it work.
Before Wagly, there was The Petpreneur Platform — a complete business management system built specifically for pet care professionals. That experience gave us something no other marketplace in Australia has: a genuine, technical understanding of how pet care businesses work at ground level. That knowledge is built into every part of Wagly.
Live GPS walk tracking built in-house
Automated booking and payout system
Sitter profile and badge management
Sitter profile and badge management
Real-time photo updates to owners
Petpreneur - powered workflow automation
What makes us different
Six things no other Australian pet care platform can say..
Built here. Run here.
Every decision is made locally. We are not a subsidiary, not a regional arm. We are accountable to Australian pet owners and carers — not to a US board.
Our Founder has dogs
Debbie breeds and shows Afghan Hounds. She has whelped litters. She has stood in the show ring. She understands quality pet care because she provides it herself.
Our own technology
The Wagly Walk Tracker — live GPS every walk — was built in-house. Our booking, payout, and communication systems were designed for the pet industry by someone who built pet industry software.
Genuinely specialist
Wagly Breeder Specialists, Wedding Chaperones, and verified Dog Show Handlers exist nowhere else in Australia. These services exist because our founder knows they are needed.
Every carer is verified
Every Wagly Pet Professional completes an ID check and a National Police Check before their first booking. A real person reviews every application. No algorithm shortcuts.
Community, not volume
We would rather have one brilliant Pet Professional in your suburb than ten unvetted strangers. We are not trying to be the biggest. We are trying to be the best.
100%
Of carers are verified before their first booking
Every
Walk tracked live with GPS and photo updates
Only
Australian-owned platform with breeder specialist services
We have enormous respect for what Mad Paws built. That is exactly why Wagly exists.
A note on Mad Paws and Rover
Mad Paws was a genuinely good Australian business.
The carers on its platform are real people who love animals and do important, meaningful work. We don't believe the Rover acquisition is a bad thing for those carers or for Rover.
What we do believe is that Australian pet owners deserve the choice of a platform that is locally owned, locally run, and locally accountable. A platform where the person at the top has whelped a litter, stood in a show ring, and built software for pet businesses — and therefore deeply understands the industry she is serving.
Wagly is that choice. We are glad you found us.
Whether you're looking for care or looking to care — you're in the right place.
Questions? We are real people and we actually respond. Reach out at [email protected] and you'll hear from someone who genuinely cares about getting it right.
Real pet lovers, right in your neighbourhood.
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