Monday, February 4, 2013

Competition Heats Up For DogVacay, As Rover Gains Funds

DogVacay, the online peer-to-peer marketplace which helps pet owners find dog sitters, has been one of the favorites of local Los Angeles investors, having picked up funding from such firms as Science Inc., Andreessen Horowitz, Baroda Ventures, Benchmark Capital, First Round Capital, and others. However, it looks like there's another dog loose in the neighborhood, after a direct competitor-Rover.com--announced an additional funding round Monday, for its own, peer-to-peer dog sitting marketplace.

Rover.com, which is based in Seattle, said it raised $7M in a funding round from Foundry Group, and added Brad Feld to its board. That new funding brings Rover.com's total raised to $10.4M. The two look headed for a dogfight, as each looks to gain awareness and find customers--not to mention hosts--for their respective services. Both let dog owners specify their location, and when they're looking to go on vacation, and then lets those owners schedule and book stays, providing photos and text updates to owners via the site.

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