How HAPO works

A way for dog owners who live near each other to help with each other's dogs. One of you has a late meeting, the other does the teatime walk. Next month it goes the other way.

It is not a service you buy and not a business you work for. Everybody here has a dog of their own.

Yes. HAPO is free to join and free to use, and nothing on it is paid for.

Money is not meant to change hands between members either. If you find yourself paying somebody, that is a dog walker rather than a neighbour, and there are better places to find one.

Other members see your postcode district — SW14, not your street or house number. Your full address is never shown to anybody.

Your own postcode district and the three nearest to it. That keeps everybody within a walk or a short drive while the community is still growing.

Go to Asking for a hand, choose walks, sits or sleepovers, pick the date and add a line about what you need. Everyone nearby sees it, and anyone who can help replies.

It happens, particularly early on and at short notice. Try a longer lead time, or have a look at the directory and message somebody whose dog would get on with yours.

Asks with a bit of warning get answered far more often than tomorrow-morning ones.

Message them and arrange a walk together first, before the day itself. That is the single most important habit on HAPO, and it is the first of the Golden Rules.

Once you have both met and the dogs have sniffed each other, sort out keys, routine, food and the vet's number.

A count of how many times somebody has helped, and how many times they have been helped. It sits on their profile as a number.

The detail is private. Nobody can see which dates you were away or who looked after your dog — a list of dates is a list of nights your house was empty.

Start from the fact that you do not yet. Trust gets built by meeting, starting small, and seeing how somebody is with your dog — not by reading a profile.

HAPO gives you three things to help: members can verify their identity, you can see how often somebody has helped before, and the Golden Rules set out how the first arrangement should go. None of them replaces meeting first.

That the member photographed a passport, driving licence or national ID card and took a selfie, and our verification provider confirmed the document is genuine and that the face matches it.

It confirms who somebody is. It is not a character reference, a criminal record check, or a recommendation from HAPO. Somebody can be exactly who they say they are and still not be the right person for your dog.

From Verify your ID. It takes about a minute on a phone.

Your photos go to our provider, not to HAPO. We are told whether you passed and nothing else — no images, no document number, no date of birth. The privacy policy sets out exactly what is kept.

Not at the moment. You can use HAPO fully without it, and members who have not verified are not marked or labelled in any way.

Food and how much, the usual routine, anything they are funny about, your vet's name and number, and how to reach you. Lead, harness, poo bags, and the key if they are coming to your house.

Written down beats remembered. The Golden Rules page has the full list.

If a dog is hurt or unwell, vet first and phone the owner on the way. Do not wait to be told what to do — an owner would far rather pay for a check-up that turned out to be nothing.

If something has gone wrong between members, email hello@helpapetout.com and tell us. If somebody has behaved badly, report them from their profile.

Not by HAPO. HAPO does not provide insurance and is not a party to what members arrange between themselves.

Many home insurance policies include third-party liability that covers looking after somebody else's dog informally. It is worth five minutes checking yours before you agree to a sleepover, and worth asking the other person whether they have checked theirs.

Turn up when you said you would. Tell somebody early if you cannot, rather than on the day. Keep to the dog's routine rather than yours. Send a photo — every owner wants one and nobody likes to ask.

And return the favour when you can. HAPO only works because it goes both ways.

On your profile. Change it if you move house and your neighbourhood changes with you.

Use forgotten password and we will email you a link. If it does not arrive within a few minutes, check your junk folder.

There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email we send, and it works without logging in. You can also turn them off in your settings.

Yes. Email hello@helpapetout.com and we will remove your account and everything on it.