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She Left Her Law Career Behind And Says Dog Walking Now Pays Her Thousands More
Liz East spent years working toward a career in criminal defense, putting in exhausting days that could stretch beyond 12 hours before adding a lengthy commute into London. She had once pictured herself becoming a criminal defense lawyer, but the reality of the job gradually made her question whether the career she had worked so hard to build was actually the life she wanted. At 30, after years of feeling drained and wondering if her routine could continue indefinitely, East made a decision that would completely change her working life.
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She walked away from the corporate world, bought a van and began building a full-time dog-walking business. East now says she typically walks between 20 and 30 dogs across several outings each day, bringing in around $400 to $530 on a typical day. She also claims she now makes thousands more per month than she did in corporate work while working around half the hours, although she insists anyone considering the same career should choose it because they genuinely enjoy being outdoors and working with dogs.
Her Law Career Was Taking Over Her Life
East spent four years working as a paralegal in criminal defense before briefly moving into consulting, having originally dreamed of becoming a criminal defense lawyer herself. Her legal work involved everything from administration to attending court, visiting prisons and speaking with clients, giving her an unusually broad view of the demanding profession she had hoped to pursue. While the work gave her valuable experience, the hours gradually became harder to cope with, particularly as her working days could stretch beyond 12 hours and her commute into London added another two hours to an already exhausting routine.
The combination left East feeling as though work was consuming the majority of her life. Instead of finishing a normal working day and having time to relax, she was spending long stretches travelling, working and then preparing to repeat the same routine again. She eventually reached a point where the career that had once represented ambition and professional success began to feel like something she was simply enduring. “Working in criminal defense was a lot, it was quite draining,” East said, describing a job that had become increasingly difficult to separate from the rest of her life.
Her frustration went deeper than being tired after a busy day. East said she began feeling older than her age and started questioning whether the lifestyle could really be sustainable for her in the long term. “I felt older than what I was. Every day I thought, ‘Is this my life now?’ ” she recalled. That question appears to have become one of the turning points in her decision, because she was no longer simply wondering whether she could handle another difficult week. She was questioning whether she wanted to spend years living the same way.
The London Lifestyle Made Her Rethink Her Future
East also found herself struggling with the wider expectations attached to corporate life in London. Long working hours were followed by social expectations, including evenings out for drinks that could mean employees did not get home until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. For someone already spending hours commuting and working, the routine left little room for the kind of personal life she imagined having in the future. She said the lifestyle became particularly difficult to reconcile with her hopes of eventually having a family.
“There’s also this ‘London life’ where you’re all expected to go out and have a drink and sometimes you’re not getting home until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.,” East said. She described the entire routine as something she did not believe would be sustainable for the future she wanted. The problem was that leaving was not an easy decision either, because corporate work offered something that could be difficult to walk away from: money. Like many people who remain in demanding careers despite being unhappy, East knew there were financial reasons to stay.
“It’s not a life,” she said. “There’s so much stress and people don’t enjoy it. But people stay because the money is good. It keeps you drawn in.” That realization became particularly significant because East was about to make a decision that would appear financially risky from the outside. She was leaving a professional career with years of training behind it and moving into a completely different line of work, meaning there was no guarantee that the change would improve either her income or her quality of life.
Watching Her Husband Changed Her Perspective
One person helped East see that another kind of working life was possible. Her husband already worked in dog walking and dog boarding, and she watched him wake up each day and go to a job he genuinely enjoyed. The contrast between their experiences became difficult for her to ignore. While she was dreading weekends and struggling through long working days, she was living alongside someone who appeared genuinely passionate about what he did for a living.
“My husband does dog-walking and dog-boarding and he loves his job,” East said. “So being around somebody who’s so passionate about what they did, I thought, ‘Why am I dreading work every weekend and working these long hours?’ ” Seeing that difference eventually pushed her toward taking the risk herself. Rather than trying to make her existing career more bearable, East decided to build something completely different around an activity she already knew she enjoyed.
She Bought A Van And Built A New Career
East eventually left her corporate career and began working toward a future in dog walking. She bought a van and initially took a job at a local pub while she built up her own customer base, allowing her to develop the business rather than immediately depending on it for her entire income. Over time, the dog-walking work became substantial enough for her to make the transition into it full time, turning what could have remained a side hustle into her main occupation.
Her daily routine now looks almost unrecognizable compared with her old working life. East says she generally walks between 20 and 30 dogs over around four outings each day, charging approximately $19 per hour per dog. She says those numbers can translate into roughly $400 to $530 in revenue on a typical day, although that figure represents what the business brings in rather than necessarily what she takes home after expenses.
Running the business also means East has taken on a different kind of responsibility. She needs to maintain a steady client base, organize multiple dogs across her outings, travel between locations and make sure the animals are safely managed. The work may look simpler from the outside than a career in criminal defense, but it requires its own practical skills and business management. East’s experience also reflects her own reported earnings and schedule, rather than suggesting that every dog walker can expect the same financial result.
Her Working Day Looks Completely Different Now
The biggest change for East appears to be the structure of her day. Instead of spending hours commuting into London and working in a professional office environment, she spends much of her working time outdoors and around animals. She has built a routine around several dog walks rather than court appointments, administrative tasks and prison visits, and she says the change has given her more time while also improving her income.
The financial result is particularly striking because East did not simply exchange a high-paying job for a lower-paying role that made her happier. She says she has managed to combine the two things many workers struggle to find at the same time: more money and more free time. According to East, she now works around half the hours she used to while earning thousands more each month than she did in corporate employment.
That does not mean there was an easy shortcut involved. East first had to leave the security of her previous career, purchase a van and build a customer base while taking another job to support herself. The business only became her full-time career after she had established enough work to make that transition possible.
People Questioned Why She Walked Away From Law
East’s career change has also attracted judgment from people who believe her years of education and professional experience should have kept her on a legal career path. To some observers, spending years studying and working toward law before becoming a dog walker may look like throwing away a significant investment. East, however, does not believe those years were wasted simply because she ultimately chose a different profession.
“I get some people saying, ‘You went from law to dog-walking? You did all that studying and now you’re just walking dogs?’ ” East said. She acknowledged that some people viewed the decision negatively, particularly because of the amount of time she had already spent building a professional background. But she argues that the knowledge and skills she gained during those years continue to have value even though she no longer works in law.
“Some of them were judgmental and think I just wasted six years, but I learnt a lot in those six years that I still use in everyday life now,” she added. Her experience is a reminder that changing careers does not necessarily erase everything that came before it. The qualification remains hers, the experience remains part of her background and the skills she developed can still be applied to the business she runs today.
She Says Her Income Is Higher Too
The financial side of East’s career switch is arguably the part that has attracted the most attention. People who hear that someone has left a professional career to become a dog walker might naturally assume the move involved accepting a lower salary in exchange for greater personal freedom. East says that assumption does not apply to her.
“People presume dog walkers are low-earning, but I actually earn more now,” she said. East claims she makes thousands more per month than she did while working in corporate life and does so while working approximately half the hours. Her reported daily revenue of around $400 to $530 helps explain how she believes she has achieved that result when her business is operating at its usual level.
There are still costs involved in running the business, and her earnings depend on having enough dogs and clients to maintain a busy schedule. The figures also cannot be treated as a standard income for anyone considering the same career. What they demonstrate is what East says she has achieved with her particular business, client base and working routine.
The Numbers Behind Her Unusual Career Switch
East has shared several figures that illustrate how dramatically her working life has changed since leaving law. Her business is built around walking multiple dogs during several outings each day, with the amount she can bring in depending on the number of dogs she has booked and the hours she works. The model allows her to earn from multiple clients during the same working period rather than relying on a single employer for her income.
The figures she has reported include:
- 20 to 30 dogs: East says she typically walks this many dogs during her working day, spread across several outings.
- Around four outings: Her dogs are divided between multiple walks rather than being handled in one large group.
- Around $19 per hour: This is the approximate amount she says she charges per dog.
- $400 to $530 per day: East says this is the approximate amount the business can bring in during a typical day.
Those figures make her reported income easier to understand, but they also show why her particular business model depends on maintaining a busy schedule. A dog walker needs enough customers to fill the available spaces, while also accounting for transportation, time between walks and the practical demands of handling animals.
East’s reported income therefore comes with an important qualification. She is describing what has worked for her rather than presenting dog walking as a guaranteed route to a higher salary. Her success has come from building a business with enough regular demand to support the schedule she wants.
She Says People Should Do It For The Dogs, Not The Money
Despite the attention around her earnings, East is not telling people to quit their jobs simply because dog walking can potentially be profitable. In fact, she specifically says the financial side should not be the main reason someone enters the industry. The job requires a genuine interest in spending time outside and caring for dogs, which means it may not suit someone who is simply looking for an easy way to make money.
“You should do it because you want to be outside and want to be with dogs,” East said. “I love getting up and going to work.” That attitude appears to be central to why she feels the career change worked for her. The money may have improved, but the original motivation was finding work she actually enjoyed doing.
East also has a safety net that many people changing careers may not have. Her law degree remains available if she ever decides she wants to return to the profession, meaning the years she spent studying have not disappeared. She knows there is still another career option waiting for her if circumstances change, even though she currently has little interest in going back.
“I’ll always have my degree and can always go back to it at some point,” she said. East added that she does not expect to return to law because she loves what she does now. After years of questioning her old career, she appears to have found something that gives her a reason to look forward to the working day.
Her Advice To Anyone Stuck In A Career Is Simple
East’s experience does not mean every person unhappy with their career should immediately quit and start a business. Her own transition involved financial uncertainty, a second job, a van, a new customer base and the willingness to build something from scratch. The income she reports also depends on the specific business she has created, so there is no guarantee that someone else would experience the same result.
What makes her story stand out is the combination she says she has achieved after leaving law. She is working fewer hours, earning more money and spending her days doing something she genuinely enjoys, after previously feeling trapped in a routine that left her asking whether it was really the life she wanted. Her legal career may have been the path she originally planned, but it was not necessarily the path she wanted to stay on.
“Life is short. Don’t stay in a job where you’re unhappy,” East said. “Just make the change and go for it. I’ve not regretted it for one single second.” For East, the biggest career decision was not finding a better position in law. It was realizing that the career she had spent years preparing for was no longer worth sacrificing the life she wanted.