The Coronavirus Economy: It’s tough, but the pet-sitting business hasn’t totally gone to the dogs

Before COVID-19 upended New York City, Jen Tserng, a pet-sitter and part-time fitness instructor, worked seven days a week, walking dogs and caring for pets in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Her pet-sitting business, which she’s been building since 2012—and since 2016 in New York—is so reliable that she doesn’t even have an apartment: she simply moves house-sitting gig to house-sitting gig.

“My goal was to just not pay rent and house-sit,” says Tserng about coming to the city four years ago. “I didn’t really think it would work out, but it has.”

When the pandemic struck, she and