Where is TruePath based?

TruePath is an Australian company, built specifically for the Australian dog care market. We operate exclusively in Australia — our verification standards, insurance framework, and support team are designed for the Australian context, not adapted from a global template.

How is TruePath different from Mad Paws or Pawshake?

The primary difference is verification depth. TruePath's three-stage process — ACIC National Police Check, direct reference calls, and an in-person interview — filters out 35% of applicants before they can accept bookings. Mad Paws requires a police check but doesn't run an in-person interview as standard. Pawshake uses ID verification and references without requiring an ACIC-standard check. TruePath is also GPS-tracking every walk by default, and pricing is transparent before checkout rather than revealed at payment.

Who founded TruePath?

TruePath was founded by Atticus, who identified that the existing Australian dog care platforms had solved the discovery problem (you can find a walker quickly) but not the trust problem (knowing whether the walker is actually competent and trustworthy). The platform was built around the verification layer that was missing from the incumbent marketplace model.

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Why We Built TruePath — The Problem With How Dog Care Works in Australia

TruePath exists because the existing dog care platforms solved discovery without solving trust. Here's the specific problem we set out to fix, the decisions we made, and what we're building toward.

By atticus · 5 min read · Last updated 17 May 2026

The existing dog care platforms in Australia are marketplaces. They solved discovery — you can find a dog walker in Surry Hills in 3 minutes — but they didn't solve trust. The verification that exists on most platforms is thin relative to what's actually being asked of the carer: a stranger in your home overnight, sole care for your dog for two weeks, the ability to administer medication to an animal that can't tell you if something's wrong.

TruePath started from a different premise: that discovery is solved, and the real problem is knowing who you're giving your dog to.

What was missing

The dog care marketplace model works like this: sitters and walkers list themselves, owners search and book, the platform takes a cut. Verification exists — a background check here, an ID upload there — but it's designed to be broad enough not to restrict supply. The more sitters on the platform, the more useful it is. Filtering aggressively narrows supply. The incentives don't favour strictness.

The result: the person who shows up to walk your dog is someone who passed a background check. That's not nothing — but it's also not much. A background check tells you whether someone has a recorded criminal history. It doesn't tell you whether they're calm when a dog reacts on a walk, whether they know what heat stress looks like in a flat-faced breed, or whether they'll actually send you a photo when they say they will.

What was missing was the in-person layer — a stage where you could actually observe whether a person handles animals well, before they're alone with your dog.

The verification we built

TruePath's walker and sitter acceptance process has three stages, all of which must pass:

Stage 1: ACIC National Police Check. The same check used for employment in schools, healthcare settings, and government roles. Not a self-declaration, not a third-party database screen — the official Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission check.

Stage 2: Direct reference calls. We call the references the applicant provides. Not an automated reference request that emails a form — a person from TruePath speaks to the reference directly, asks specific questions, and records what they say. Self-submitted references are worth little; verified references are worth something.

Stage 3: In-person interview. A member of the TruePath team meets the applicant, observes how they interact with animals, and asks scenario-based questions. How do you handle a dog that reacts to another dog on the walk? What do you do if a dog shows illness symptoms at 11pm? What does heat stress look like in a bulldog? These questions produce answers that reveal real competence or real gaps.

35% of people who apply don't pass. Some fail the police check. Some fail the reference call. Many are turned away at the interview — not because they're bad people, but because caring for someone else's dog is a specific skill and not everyone has it yet.

The decisions that shaped the product

GPS tracking on every walk. Not optional, not an upgrade — included by default. An owner leaving their dog with a walker deserves to know where their dog went, how long the walk was, and that what they were told happened is what actually happened. The post-walk route map is the simplest accountability mechanism we could build, and it builds trust faster than any other single feature.

Pricing transparency before checkout. What you see when searching is what you pay. No service fee revealed at the final checkout page. The checkout-surprise model that competitors use is a dark pattern — it works commercially but it erodes trust with every use.

One service type done well, not five done adequately. TruePath focuses on walking and sitting. We're not also a grooming marketplace, a daycare booking system, and a vet appointment platform. Spreading across service types dilutes the verification model — you can't apply the same rigour to a groomer who works for 45 minutes as to a sitter who has overnight access to someone's home. We chose depth over breadth.

What we're building toward

The care relationship — one owner, one dog, one verified carer who knows the dog — is what makes absence low-stress. The owner who's been with the same walker for two years doesn't worry when they travel. The dog who knows the sitter is settled by night two. This is what we're optimising for, and it requires a platform that rewards longevity and relationship quality, not just transaction volume.

More suburbs. More sitters who've passed the process. Deeper tools for owners managing complex care needs — medication tracking, health observation sharing, vet communication. That's the direction.

TruePath isn't the biggest dog care platform in Australia. It's the one that believes the person who shows up to your door matters as much as whether the app lets you find them.

Find a TruePath walker near you

Background-checked walkers, GPS-tracked walks, and live photo updates. Most owners book their first walk within an hour.

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Frequently asked questions

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