Our story

A van, a friendship and a dog residence

Paws Residence wasn't born in an office. It was born in 2011 at Mas Carol, a family-run dog residence in Polinyà, twenty minutes from Barcelona.

It all started with a Volkswagen Transporter. I took it to a workshop in Tona, near Vic, to have a roof tent fitted, California-style. That's where I met Anna, who worked there, and we became friends.

Some time later, Anna left the workshop to work at Mas Carol. One conversation led to another, and I ended up building them custom software to run the residence: GestinGab.

Made to fit a family residence

Mas Carol had about 25 rooms and a very clear way of working: it was a family residence, where every dog was treated the way it deserved and clients were known face to face. GestinGab was built around that way of working.

In 2020 the residence changed hands. The new team kept the software and, with a few small improvements, GestinGab is still running today, every day.

What Mas Carol taught me

In 2021 I started rewriting it from scratch to open it up to other residences, and gave it a new name: Paws Residence. I added what seemed modern: online booking open to anyone and a daily photo of every dog for the owners. I showed it to the people at Mas Carol, and they brought me back down to earth.

Open booking doesn't work for a family residence: clients come back year after year, and before accepting a booking you want to know who's leaving their dog with you. No speculating with rooms.

Daily photos didn't work either: most dogs are sad when they're away from their family, and a photo like that causes more worry than reassurance. Those two lessons are at the heart of Paws Residence.

Why now

That rewrite never saw the light of day: life happened, and it was put on hold before it was finished. Now I've rewritten it again, a second time and from the ground up: in the cloud, on your phone, tablet or computer, and for any residence.

All those years alongside a residence teach you a lot, but every place has its own way of doing things. Paws Residence starts from what worked at Mas Carol and is open to adapting to yours.

1. 2011 GestinGab is born, custom-built for Mas Carol.
2. 2020 The residence changes hands. GestinGab stays, and is still running today.
3. 2021 First rewrite, under a new name: Paws Residence. Life happens, and it's put on hold.
4. 2026 Second rewrite. Paws Residence, for every residence.