Company Backgrounder

FETCH! Pet Care was born out of the frustration that Paul Mann, the national pet franchise Founder and CEO, experienced in trying to find reputable sitters for his own pets. He did not want to kennel his pets due to the many health and psychological risks associated with dog boarding, and wanted assurance that his pets would receive humane, personalized care and the affection they were accustomed to while he was away. Through his efforts to find a pet sitting service that met his needs, Mann quickly learned this industry was largely made up of small 1-2 person operations that covered a limited geographic area, booked up quickly, and were often unavailable when he needed them most. He recognized this glaring discrepancy between the demand for reliable pet care and both the lack of quality and quantity of the supply of reputable pet care service providers. Mann had his "Aha" moment and channeled it into a pet business plan. In 2002, FETCH! Pet Care was founded as a local Bay Area business in Berkeley, California with the sole mission of providing as-needed professional, reliable, and loving care to pets of all kinds.

From the onset, Mann intended to set a new standard in pet care with a combination of benchmark services and benefits. His free, no obligation in-home consultations with bonded, insured, professionally screened and experienced pet sitters and a 100% satisfaction guarantee was combined with a complete array of pet care services meeting all budget levels. Services included private dog walks, group dog exercise, daily pet visits, in-home overnight sitting, private in-sitter's-home boarding, day care, pet taxiing, yard pet waste cleanup and home care. From walks and adventures to visits and overnights to assuring the client's home was safe and secure, Mann set out to assure he could cover any pet parent's distinct needs.

Mann also applied his well rounded background in operations, sales, marketing and IT to completely Internet enable and streamline all aspects of the company's ever-burgeoning daily operations. In addition, he contracted and screened experienced staff in key geographic regions, established pet care coordinators to centrally and rapidly fulfill each client's pet care phone and email requests, and invested in major marketing and communications initiatives to establish FETCH! Pet Care as a reputable, trusted, and well-known brand name.

Within two years of operation, FETCH! Pet Care expanded to cover the entire San Francisco Bay Area and grew to become Northern California's leading pet sitting and dog walking service with over 900 clients and over 80 contract sitters. Motivated by the overwhelmingly positive response, in January 2004, FETCH! Pet Care opened its first franchise in San Diego, California.

FETCH! Pet Care's franchise initiative provides serious full-time business operators with a proven, turnkey, and professional pet care franchise system that requires among the lowest capital investments in the franchise industry. Training and other franchise materials cover virtually all aspects of the business including operations, marketing, legal, accounting and human resources. Franchisees also have access to discounted software, telecom systems, insurance, trademarked and branded marketing materials, and benefit from both sophisticated national advertising and public relations programs as well as online franchise discussion groups and roundtable sessions.

Today, the company services thousands of locations across Northern America and is continuously growing at a rapid pace.