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Dog walking, sitting provider Rover moves to new Spokane quarters

Employees work with a view of the downtown Spokane skyline in an office area not yet filled to capacity because Rover.com is still growing at its new Spokane offices at the top of the former bakery building at Lincoln Street and Broadway Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The internet-based pet services provider based in Seattle has grown rapidly in recent years. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Employees work with a view of the downtown Spokane skyline in an office area not yet filled to capacity because Rover.com is still growing at its new Spokane offices at the top of the former bakery building at Lincoln Street and Broadway Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The internet-based pet services provider based in Seattle has grown rapidly in recent years. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
By Nicholas Deshais nickd@spokesman.com(509) 459-5440

Rover, the Seattle-based dogsitting and walking startup, moved into Spokane’s Wonder Building Wednesday.

The company, which has 600 employees worldwide, moved its 86 local workers to the new location on the top floor of the recently refurbished bread factory on Broadway Avenue, which recently underwent a $15 million renovation.

Jennifer Summers, director of operations for the company, said Rover has room to expand to 300 employees in the building.

“This is the majority of our front line,” Summers said of Rover’s Spokane workforce. “We do plan to grow. That’s a big reason why we moved here.”

Large windows face downtown Spokane, and Rover employees work in an open office. Cubicle pods of four have built-in gates, allowing workers to close off their work station when they bring their dogs to work.

The company, which connects dog owners with sitters and walkers, occupies 30,000 square feet in the building and has leased the entire top floor and the western end of the second floor. A large kitchen and dining area sits in the middle of the top floor. Rooftop decks have views of the city.

Other Wonder building tenants include Parametrix, a Seattle-based engineering firm. Chad White, a local restaurateur, said he will open High Tide Lobster Bar 2 there as well.

Rover opened its Spokane office in 2017 in the historic Bennett Block.

The company began in 2011 and has grown quickly. According to GeekWire, a Seattle technology news website, Rover raised $155 million last year, “propelling the Seattle-based company to near-unicorn status and making it one of the highest-valued privately-held startups in the Pacific Northwest.”

The company has raised a total of $310 million in funding. In May 2018, the Wall Street Journal valued the company at $970 million.

The app-based company originally connected dog owners with sitters and walkers but has since expanded to many areas of pet care. This week, Rover said it would provide in-home pet grooming. In April, the company expanded its pet care services to include cats, further expanding its customer reach.

Last year, 1.4 million unique pet owners used Rover, and its services were requested once every three seconds.