Economy Creating Huge Demand for Pet Care Services

A combination of multiple economic, workforce and demographic trends are contributing to an exploding demand for pet care services, particularly at-home pet sitting and dog walking.

“It’s clear that in this current economic downturn, Americans are working harder and are spending significantly more time at the office than anticipated,” said Paul Mann, CEO of FETCH! Pet Care, part of the $43 billion pet industry. “With the downsizing of companies all across the country, employees are clocking more overtime than ever, and we are the ones caring for their pets as a result.”

FETCH! Pet Care, USA’s largest and most professional at-home pet sitting and dog-walking franchise, which services more than 1,800 communities across 35 states, provides professionally trained pet sitters for owners of any kind of pet, from dogs and cats, to birds, fish, iguanas and more. Caregivers can be hired for ongoing daily services, overnight care, as well as weekends, during the busy holiday season, or on a moment’s notice.

Mann, who founded FETCH! Pet Care in 2002 in the midst of a similar economic recession, knows firsthand how the pet business grows when the economy is down. He points to the following factors contributing to the most recent boom in pet care, which will be a significant contributor to the growth of Fetch! Pet Care as the pet industry expands to $52 billion by 2010:

• Baby boomers, whose children are leaving home, and young professionals, who are prioritizing their careers over raising children, have voids to fill. Because they’re looking to pets to fill a human-type void, they are humanizing their pets and spending lavishly as a result.

• Pet owners make up two-thirds of all households, with the average home having nearly two pets each. There is a lack of professionally trained providers to keep up with growing market demand.

• As companies continue to downsize their employee base, those that remain employed must work harder and those in sales have larger territories to cover and have increased travel demands, thus increasing the amount of time they must be away from their pets.

• More than 5 percent of Americans, or 7.7 million people, are now working more than one job, giving them less time to spend at home with their pets.

Historically, the pet care industry has been dominated by independent pet sitters. Although loving and caring, many of these individuals have run the business as a hobby or don’t possess the systems, processes or procedures to ensure consistent customer satisfaction, which has affected the reputation of the pet care industry. Fetch! Pet Care is unique in that all of its sitters are professionally trained, criminal history background checked, bonded and insured and must follow detailed policies and procedures in order to ensure pets and their owners receive consistently high quality service.

To further differentiate their business and drive more business to their franchisees, Fetch! Pet Care has created partnerships with a series of major corporations and associations, such as AAA and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, who are promoting FETCH! Pet Care’s services to more than 75 million of their employees, customers and members. By adding FETCH! Pet Care services these companies are enjoying “pet-friendly” status in the marketplace and their employees, customers and members are benefiting from special discounts and peace of mind.

“Pets are a huge part of any family,” Mann said. “Instead of boarding up pets in kennels, we give owners the chance to have their animals cared for in their home, where they feel more comfortable and secure.”

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