Four Leading Pet Advocates Come Together to Award a Pet Shelter with 10,000 Meals

Right before Paul Mann founded Fetch! Pet Care, the nation’s largest dog walking and pet sitting franchise, in 2002, he rescued an abandoned and severely distressed cat from the San Francisco SPCA named Finnigan. Finnigan had multiple issues when Mann took him in, including food deprivation.  At that time, Mann resolved that he would help more than just two rescued pets (Mann later rescued a dog named Milo).  That time has come as Fetch! Pet Care has put together a campaign so that other great rescue stories could shine in the hope that more pets could be helped.

Finnigan

Together with The Bark magazine, Halo Purely forPets, and FreeKibble.com, Mann’s Fetch! Pet Care will host a nationwide contest titled The Rescue Who Rescued Me for pet owners to share their tale of how they saved a pet through rescue or adoption.  The person whose picture or video submission receives the most votes of their rescued pet will be awarded the opportunity to select the pet shelter of their choice in which FreeKibble will donate 10,000 free meals, equivalent to 2,500 pounds of pet food.

“I got into the pet industry because I wanted to help pets everywhere receive the best care possible.  I had experienced and heard of too many horror stories about pets not being treated respectfully.  This nationwide contest is a way to bring out all those great rescue stories from people who are heroes in their own right,” said Mann.  “Luckily, we have some great partners that are equally invested in the proper care for pets and are allowing us the opportunity to award 10,000 meals of Halo Spot’s Stew pet food to a deserving shelter that needs it now more than ever.”

In order for rescuers to share their stories, they can submit their photos or videos and descriptions on Fetch! Pet Care’s Facebook Fan page at www.facebook.com/fetchcorporate through the “Rescue Who Rescued Me Contest” link from Nov. 16 to Dec. 18.  The Grand Prize winner will be featured in the March edition of The Bark magazine and the shelter of the winner’s choosing will receive 10,000 free nutritious meals of Halo’s Spot’s Stew from FreeKibble.com.

“We believe that the collection of these photos, videos and stories will help promote awareness for pets that need good homes and families to love and care for them,” said Mann, “We encourage everyone to spread the word and promote adopting a rescue pet this holiday season.”

Fetch! Pet Care Named in Entrepreneur's Top 100 Low Cost Franchises

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in Entrepreneur's Top 100 Low Cost Franchises.

Adding to Fetch! Pet Care's growing list of accolades, Fetch! was named #35 this month in Entrepreneur's top 100 low cost franchises. Entrepreneur bases it's rankings off how many franchise units there are, startup costs, ongoing fees and financing.

In 2011, Entrepreneur has also ranked Fetch! Pet Care in its Top 500 Franchises (#166), Top New Ranking (#24), Top Home-based Franchises (#46) and Fast-Growing Franchises (#51).

Click here to view the Enterpreneur's full Top 100 list.

Fetch! Pet Care & Trupanion | Pet Look-A-Like Contest Winner

Fetch! Pet Care and Trupanion's Pet Look-A-Like Contest has come to a close and our winner is crowned!

The Pet Look-A-Like contest ran from September 19th to October 31st. Fans were able to submit their photos and from there vote for their favorites once a day. To see some other great entries, click here!

Our 1st Place Look-A-Like

Our winner, Tyler and RJ, had in total 1,418 votes, beating the second place photo only 98 votes. The contest overall had over 3,200 votes!

Tyler's mom, Shirley, entered this photo of Tyler and their dog, RJ, because they are both smiling and have "squinty" eyes. Can you see the similarity?


Congratulations to our winner and thank you to all of our fans who participated in submitting photos and !

Below, enjoy some honorable mentions:

Our 2nd Place Look-A-Like

Our 3rd Place Look-A-Like

Fetch! Pet Care feature in the Oak Forest Patch

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in the Oak Forest Patch in an article entitled, "Local Woman's Career Goes to the Dogs." Oak Forest Patch reporter Lauren Traut compiled an article about Fetch! Pet Care business owner Linda Stevens’ career, from working in the housing industry and getting out right before the recession to owning seven Fetch! Pet Care locations. Stevens wanted to continue working, but wanted a career that she was passionate about that would allow her to spend time with her young son. As an animal lover, Stevens found the best of both worlds with Fetch! Pet Care and now owns territories all over Chicagoland. As for her choice to make the switch, Stevens says in the article, “It’s the best decision I ever made.” Click here to view the entire article.

Local Woman's Career Goes to the Dogs

By: Lauren Traut

Linda Stevens left her career in the construction business just in time—before the housing market crashed.

After 20 years in the business, the wife and mother found herself on new, shaky ground after quitting her job in 2005. Stevens was looking to live her dream of having a career, without sacrificing time with her family. She had always loved animals, and when an opportunity arose to start her own franchise of a national pet sitting and and dog walking business, she was intrigued.

"My son was younger, I wanted to spend time with my family," Stevens said. "I had to change my lifestyle."

(Read More)

Fetch! Pet Care feature in EntrepreneurStartups Magazine

Recently EntrepreneurStartups Magazine featured Fetch! Pet Care franchisee Peggy Kennedy in an article called “How Social Media and a Sprinkle of Stardust Led to One Franchisee’s Success,” which published this month.  Peggy had made an amazing transition from the corporate finance world on the East Coast to Fetch! franchisee on the West Coast.  Since moving and starting her business, she has adapted to a great lifestyle where she does what she is passionate about and leads the lifestyle she wants. Click here to read the entire article.

How Social Media and a Sprinkle of Stardust Led to One Franchisee's Success
By: David Port

When Peggy Kennedy says she's working near capacity, she's no longer talking in terms of late nights at the office, polishing PowerPoint presentations. For Kennedy, who formerly worked in financial services on the East Coast and found refuge as a West Coast pet-care industry franchise owner, nowadays it's about the time she and her staff spend caring for clients of the four-legged variety.

"I'm working all the time--weekends, vacations, I'm always checking in. And I'm adding administrative staff just to keep up," says Kennedy, referring to the Fetch! Pet Care franchise she's been running in the Los Angeles area since 2006. Buoyed by a largely word-of-mouth clientele sprinkled with Hollywood celebs and their pets, her pet-sitting and dog-walking operation hit all-time highs this summer for monthly revenue, grossing more than $30,000, up from $1,500 in its early days.

(Read More)

Fetch! Pet Care & Trupanion | Pet Look-A-Like Contest Submission Coming to a Close

Fetch! Pet Care and Trupanion are partnering together to host the Pet Look-A-Like contest!

The Pet Look-A-Like contest is being hosted on Fetch! Pet Care's Facebook page and asks fans to submit photos of them and their pets. These photos can have an uncanny resemblance, matching outfits, or just a fun pose! Winner of the contest will win an iPad 2!

The submission period ends THIS Sunday, October 16th at 11:59pm EST and voting will immediately start Monday, October 17th!

So far we have gotten great submissions! Here's a preview of some of them:

Get your photos in today before Sunday!

Want to be a Superhero?

Rescue a Shelter Dog... and Get a Loyal Sidekick for All of Life's Adventures

You can save the day for a homeless dog -- and find a faithful companion who will be at your side for all of life's adventures -- by adopting a dog from your local shelter or breed-rescue group during American Humane's Adopt-A-Dog Month® in October.

Adopting a dog is a heroic feat that's easy to perform, and animal shelters and breed-rescue groups are filled with amazing dogs: large, small, mixed breeds, even purebreds. In fact, millions of loyal, lovable dogs are surrendered to our nation's animal welfare organizations every year because their owners simply couldn't take care of them anymore. Now they're homeless -- and just waiting for a hero like you!

During Adopt-A-Dog Month, we encourage you to visit your local shelter or breed-rescue group, meet potential sidekicks and discover the many super-size benefits of having a dog: happiness, companionship, improved physical and emotional health, and devoted love. Dogs also encourage people to exercise, enhance family and social relationships, promote laughter and act as a nonjudgmental audience and sounding board. No that's super!

American Humane works year-round to support animal welfare organizations, promote adoptions and enhance the bond that people share with their companion animals. And each year during Adopt-A-Dog Month, we give shelters tools and resources to continue fostering connections between people and pets.

If you're ready to find your very own faithful canine companion, check out American Humane's resources to learn about the adoption centers, shelter and rescue groups, and adoption stories.