Getting a dog walker in when you are at work
A dog walker needs entry on a schedule that often falls when the apartment is empty, which is what makes this harder than a one off delivery. The usual answers are a copied key, a lockbox, a door code or somebody buzzing them in remotely. Only the last one ends when the walk ends, and it depends on the buzz reaching a phone that gets answered.
Live with others? BuzzMeBro puts more than one of you on the buzzer. First month free. Start free
Say the walk is at one in the afternoon, every Tuesday and Thursday. It is the most predictable entry problem you will ever have, and the hardest hour to be home for.
Why a walker is different from a driver
A courier is one visit by one stranger. A walker is a standing arrangement, so whatever you set up has to keep working for months without you thinking about it.
That is also why the casual answers go wrong here. A code shared with one driver is already a risk. The same code shared with a rotating roster is worse.
The four arrangements, honestly
| Arrangement | Works | The real cost |
|---|---|---|
| A copied key | Yes | You are trusting a company, not a person, and rekeying is on you |
| A lockbox | Yes | Needs the building’s permission, and it advertises that a key is there |
| A building entry code | Yes | Shared onward, and not yours to share without the building’s say |
| Buzzing them in | When the buzz is answered | Nothing, and it ends the moment the door shuts |
The first three are tempting because the fourth keeps failing, not because they are better. In Toronto, propping the lobby door for the walker is off the table too: the property standards bylaw says shared entrance doors must be kept closed and locked, and not held open except in an emergency. Why handing over anything reusable goes wrong.
Ask the building before inventing something
Some buildings have a sanctioned route, like a registered service provider list or a key held at the desk under a signature. Ask before you set anything up yourself.
- A registered visitor list, where the walker signs in at a desk.
- A key held by management, released against a name and a signature.
- A fob issued to the service company, traceable and revocable.
- Nothing at all, which is common in walk ups with no desk.
Making the fourth option realistic
Buzzing somebody in from your desk works, because on a dial-out panel a buzz is an ordinary phone call. Mircom’s TX3 manual describes the panel dialling a resident’s home or cell number, and the resident pressing 9, or the digit the building set, to open the main door.
It fails for one reason: the panel rings a single phone, and one in the afternoon is when that phone is least likely to be free. The general shape of that.
BuzzMeBro gives the apartment a local number that rings up to 4 phones at once for $9.99 a month. The walker buzzes, whichever of you is free picks up, confirms it is the walker, and presses the digit. Nothing is left behind afterwards. Start free.
From our own door
- BuzzMeBro has run on our founder’s own Toronto apartment door since August 2026.
- A buzz calls the phones on the apartment that are set to ring, at the same time, up to 4, and whoever answers first lets the walker in.
- If one phone is off, its voicemail never takes the buzz. The others keep ringing and can still open the door.
Questions people ask
Can I buzz someone in from work?
Yes, if your panel dials out to a phone number. The buzz arrives as a normal phone call, and the door digit works from wherever you answer, as long as the call is clear. Check it is your walker before you press it.
Is a lockbox allowed on my building?
Ask management before fixing one to anything. A lockbox on building property needs the building’s permission, and one on a railing tells anybody passing that a key is inside.
My walker sends a different person some weeks. Does that matter?
It matters a lot for keys and codes, because whatever you handed over is now held by a company rather than the individual you met. In Ontario, a tenant is also responsible for undue damage caused wilfully or negligently by someone they let into the building. If you buzz them in, you decide each time.
What if I am in a meeting at walk time?
That is the usual failure, and it is why one phone on the panel is fragile. A buzz that rings several phones means a partner or housemate can answer instead.
What happens when I stop using the walker?
With a key or code, you have to retrieve or change something. With BuzzMeBro the arrangement simply stops, because nothing was ever handed over.
Sources
- City of Toronto, Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 629, Property Standards
- Mircom, TX3 Telephone Access System User Guide: Keypad Configuration
- Government of Ontario, Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17