Almost 20 Years of Walking Dogs in Kensington Gardens

Next year it will be 20 years of Agnes & Pavel.

Twenty years of taking care of dogs in Kensington Gardens. The same us, with a few more wrinkles. The same park, the same priorities. No vans, no employees, no shortcuts. Just two people who fell in love with this work long before dog walking became a popular business in London.

For us, the most important thing has always been the happiness of these dogs. Making sure that the walk we give them is the most wonderful moment of their day. A meeting with friends, a chance to release all their built-up energy, to run free off-lead across the park. We want them to go back home tired and happy, to feel how much we love them, because it is impossible not to love them.

Over the years, we have watched puppies grow into adults and adults grow into old friends. Some of our dogs have walked with us for nearly their entire lives. Their owners have become like extended family, and we still keep in touch with many of them long after their dogs have passed. That is what happens when the same two people walk your dog every single day, year after year. It stops being a service and becomes a relationship.

We have seen Kensington Gardens in every season and every weather. We have seen the park empty on freezing January mornings and packed with families on sunny afternoons in July. Through all of it, four dogs at a time, on foot from their front doors in Notting Hill and Bayswater, off-lead in the park, back home happy and exhausted.

As we mentioned at the beginning – almost 20 years, and still not a day goes by without them making us laugh. Not a day passes without one of us saying “Look, look what they’re doing!” Not a day without us joining their silly games, hugging them, talking to them. Yes, talking! We often catch ourselves, especially walking on the pavements on the way to the park, having full conversations with them. Not monologues, but real conversations, because they answer us. Sometimes with a wagging tail, sometimes with perky ears, sometimes with that look in their eyes that says more than words ever could.

So yes, time flies like crazy. But when that time is filled with love and their unconditional affection, life becomes warmer, fuller, and happier. Because a dog walker is also human, and we also have bad days, or rather bad mornings. But a bad mood disappears the moment we pick up the first dog.

Here is to the next twenty years.