Rover Acquires Gudog, Starts European Expansion into Denmark and Ireland

Rover, a leading online marketplace for loving pet care, has announced it has launched in Denmark and Ireland, bringing its trusted services to millions of new pet parents. The expansion into two new countries is part of a broader growth strategy with plans to enter Switzerland, Finland, Austria, Poland and Belgium. By the end of 2025, Rover’s global footprint will include 17 countries.

Rover has also announced its acquisition of Gudog, a European-based dog sitting and walking platform founded in 2015. The Gudog network consists of 20,000 dog sitters and walkers throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The deal is expected to accelerate the roll-out of Rover’s service in Denmark and Ireland and further builds on the October 2024 acquisition of cat-centric marketplace, Cat in a Flat.

“Both pet parents and care providers have embraced Rover throughout Europe with an enthusiasm that has exceeded our expectations thus far,” said Brent Turner, president of Rover. “With that in mind, we are excited to introduce Rover to pet parents in Denmark and Ireland, and we could not be more pleased to welcome the Gudog community to Rover. These investments enable us to further our mission, which is to make it easier for people to experience the unconditional love of pets in their lives.”

Europe is Rover’s fastest growing geography for first-time customers. In 2024, European bookings represented roughly 16 percent of global new bookings – a number that is expected to grow for the full year 2025. While also leveraging much of its technology investments made to date, Rover expects to invest an incremental $15 million over the next five years as part of its strategy to bring its pet care services to more countries in Europe. The new markets represent an additional $6.5 billion of long-term opportunity.

“This is an incredible milestone in the Gudog journey. Over the last ten years our team has built and nurtured a network of pet lovers throughout Europe – one that we’re exceptionally proud of,” said Timothy McElroy, CEO and cofounder of Gudog. “Rover has an excellent team, deep expertise scaling its marketplace and leading reputation in the pet care space, making this transaction the natural next step in Gudog’s story and we couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Rover.”

Led by founders Timothy McElroy and Loly Garrido, Gudog’s community spans eight European countries with over one million days of services booked to date and 300,000 pet parent reviews. Terms of the Gudog deal were not disclosed. Herbert Smith Freehills LLP acted as legal counsel to Rover. CKS Finance LTD acted as financial advisor to Gudog and Philip Lee LLP acted as legal counsel to Gudog.