UK woman quit a high-paying criminal law career for dog-walking, now earns ₹50,000 a day

Liz East spent four years in criminal defence law, and most days ended the same way: exhausted, drained, and wondering if this was really her life. She quit — and found something unexpected on the other side. 

Liz East had the kind of career people are told to want. Criminal defence law — courtrooms, clients, the weight of other people's futures resting on how well she did her job. From the outside, it looked like she'd made it.

From the inside, it felt different.

"Working in criminal defence was a lot; it was quite draining," she told People magazine, as reported by the outlet, citing Kennedy News and Media. "I did everything from admin to going to court, going to prisons, and chatting with clients." Four years in, the exhaustion had stopped feeling temporary. It had started to feel like the rest of her life.

"I felt older than I was," she said. “Every day I thought, 'Is this my life now?'”

The version of adulthood she didn't want

She talks about something a lot of people who've worked in high-pressure city jobs will recognise: the expectation to keep showing up, keep socialising, keep performing exhaustion as if it were commitment. "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 pm or 10 pm," she said. “I don't think that's sustainable for having a family.”

She's blunt about what kept people, including her, staying in jobs like that far longer than made sense. "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."

Watching someone who loved their work

What finally shifted something wasn't a single breaking point — it was proximity to someone doing the opposite. Her husband runs a dog-walking and boarding business, and East found herself quietly comparing his relationship with work to her own. "My husband does dog-walking and dog-boarding, and he loves his job," she said. "So, being around someone who is so passionate about what they do, I thought, 'Why am I dreading work every weekend and working these long hours?'"

That question didn't have a comfortable answer. So she left. She picked up shifts at a local pub to cover her bills while she built a client base of her own, one dog at a time, on the side. Within a year, her days were full.

What she has now

East runs four group walks a day, looking after 20 to 30 dogs. At around 14 pounds (roughly ₹1,800) an hour per dog, her daily turnover comes to 300 to 400 pounds — approximately ₹38,500 to ₹51,400.

She's aware of how the choice looks to people who knew her as a lawyer. "I get some people saying, 'You went from law to dog-walking? You did all that studying and now you're just walking dogs?'" she said. “Some of them were judgmental and thought I had wasted six years, but I learned a lot during those six years that I still use in everyday life.”

What surprises people most, she says, is the money. "People presume dog walkers are low-earning, but I actually earn more now," she said. "I'm making thousands more per month than I was working in corporate, and I do half the hours I used to."

But she's careful not to make it sound like a simple trade-up. "You should do it because you want to be outside and want to be with dogs," she said. "I love getting up and going to work." Her law degree isn't going anywhere, either, just in case. "I'll always have my degree and can go back to it at some point," she said. "Not that I think I ever will, because I love what I do so much."

About the Author

Anjali Thakur is a Senior Assistant Editor with Mint, reporting on trending news, entertainment and health, with a focus on stories driving digital conversations. Her work involves spotting early signals across news cycles and social media, sharpening stories for SEO and Google Discover, and mentoring young editors in digital-first newsroom practices. She is known for turning fast-moving developments—whether news-driven or culture-led—into clear, tightly edited journalism without compromising editorial rigour.<br><br> Before joining Mint, she was Deputy News Editor at NDTV.com, where she led the Trending section and covered viral news, breaking developments and human-interest stories. She has also worked as Chief Sub-Editor at India.com (Zee Media) and as Senior Correspondent with Exchange4media and Hindustan Times’ HT City, reporting on media, advertising, entertainment, health, lifestyle and popular culture.<br><br> Anjali holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miranda House, and is currently pursuing an MBA, strengthening her understanding of business strategy and digital media economics. Her writing balances newsroom discipline with a clear instinct for what resonates with readers.

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