Developing Networks Through Pet-Centered Tavel
This recent article from the Boston Globe talks about a website called Trusted Housesitters where pet owners can find someone to come take care of their pets and their house for free while they are away. Through the website, homeowners and pet sitters form new connections, often across continents, creating a network of people who would never have interacted without the technology we have today. The interaction between homeowner and pet sitter is not as hidden and transactional as other home-sharing websites; both parties get to know each other and form a real friendship over a commonality they share a love for: the pets. The developing network does not end at connections just made through the website, however. Homeowners introduce their petsitter to their friends and community so that the petsitter has a whole new community to interact and connect with throughout their time there. This extends the network beyond the internet and forms true and lasting friendships that would not have been made otherwise.
The networks formed here initially create local bridges, giving the pet sitter insight into a new community and culture, especially if they are traveling to another continent to pet sit. The triadic closure property also has an effect throughout the pet sitters time on the job, as the homeowner may introduce the pet sitter to their friends in order to make the pet sitter and the pets more comfortable in this new situation. These new connections between the pet sitter and the community members may also form just from being out in public with the locally known pets. Throughout the experience, closed triangles will form around the homeowner and the local bridge disappear, forming an expanded network and community.