Strikingly Similar: Pets and Owners Compete in Facebook Look-Alike Contest

Together with Trupanion®, Fetch! Pet Care Uses Facebook to Strengthen Interactions with Fans

WALNUT CREEK, CA —Even Grandma and Grandpa are on Facebook nowadays, so it’s no surprise that pets increasingly have their own Facebook profile as well.  In fact, the line between pets and owners is increasingly close, and many studies support the old adage that people resemble their pets. As such, Fetch! Pet Care invites contestants to vie for winner of their first “Pet Look-Alike” contest. Fetch! Pet Care is the largest pet sitting and dog walking franchise in the United States. The contest is being sponsored together with Trupanion®, a leading pet insurance company.

In order to compete, fans should “like” the Fetch! Pet Care page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fetchcorporate. Through the “Pet Look-Alike Contest” link, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 16, pet owners can upload their photo, photo title and photo description, which will then be put up for voting from October 17 until October 31. The winning submission will receive an Apple iPad.

“The beauty of Facebook is that anyone can easily compete,” said Elyse Marks, Director of Marketing for Fetch! Pet Care. “The results should be hilarious – same pouf or curly hair to the same ears or jowls – we want to see it all!”

Photos are not limited to similar body appearance. Whether it’s an uncanny resemblance, matching outfits, or a fun pose, Fetch! Pet Care hopes to capture more pets and their owners having a good time together. 

“As a brand, it was important for us to find more ways to interact with our current and future customers,” said Paul Mann, founder and CEO of Fetch! Pet Care. “Through the power of social media, we can learn more about our customers while interacting with them in their personal space. The value of this process to both our brand and pet owners everywhere is priceless. We want to know our customers, fans and pets by name.” 

The foundation of the contest was built from founder Mann’s passion for pets. An avid animal lover himself, Mann started the business when he needed a pet sitter while he was traveling. After tirelessly interviewing local pet sitters in his search for someone to entrust his furry babies and his house to, he had an "Aha!" moment. It wasn't a simple problem at all — it was really hard to find someone reliable and loving to care for his pets the way he did, and was a common problem experienced by most pet parents.

Today, Fetch! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted provider of professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. Fetch! Pet Care pet sitters are highly experienced professionals who are pet parents themselves, intuitively and professionally understanding what pets and pet owners need. The sitters care for all types of pets, no matter the size or species — they’re dog, cat, bird and even snake and spider people.

ABOUT FETCH! PET CARE

Fetch! Pet Care is the nation's largest and most trusted franchisor for professional pet sitting and dog walking services, serving thousands of pets and pet parents from coast to coast. They take the stress out of finding a sitter and add convenience to your life by doing all of the legwork for you. With over 3000 Fetch! Pet Care professionals in 1500 communities, they match you and your pets with the most qualified, experienced pet professional possible. Whether you need a daily dog walker or last-minute pet sitter, Fetch! Pet Care has got your tail covered! In 2011, Fetch! Pet Care ranked top of its category, making Entrepreneur Magazine’s Best of Best List.  It also ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Low-Cost Franchises, Top New Ranking, Top Home-based Franchises and Fast-Growing Franchises in addition to the top-ranked pet-care franchise on AllBusiness.com’s AllStar Franchise List for the current year. For more information, visit www.fetchpetcare.com.  

Fetch! Pet Care featured on BusinessNewsDaily.com

Fetch! Pet Care was featured on BusinessNewsDaily.com. BusinessNewsDaily reporter Kim Zimmermann spoke with Chief Executive of Fetch Pet Care Paul Mann on what characteristics small business owners should look for in investors. The article titled “How You Know It’s Time To Find An Investor” gives entrepreneurs some tips on when it may be the right time to find investors and what a small business may need from investors.  The article is based off of Paul Mann’s experience in finding a great partnership in Cybeck Capital Partners whose vision for growing the franchise to 500 locations by 2015 perfectly aligned with Mann’s vision.  Click here to view the full article.

How You Know It's Time to Find an Investor

By: Kim Ann Zimmermann

At some point, every young business comes to a crossroad. Perhaps the entrepreneur lacks the funding to take their idea any further. Or, maybe the business owner is good at certain aspects of running the business—such as wooing new clients and identifying areas of potential growth—but needs some assistance with budgeting and setting priorities if they want to expand.

How does a business owner know when is it time to bring in an investor?

For Paul Mann, the founder and CEO of Fetch! Pet Care, a national dog walking and pet services franchise based in Walnut Creek, Calif., the moment was when he realized his "teenager" of a business would need help in becoming an "adult" as the number of franchised units grew from 33 to 200 from 2006 to 2008.

(Read More)

Fetch! Pet Care featured on Kiplinger

Fetch! Pet Care was featured on Kiplinger in an article entitled, "8 Low-Cost Franchises for Hard Times." The article highlights the number of franchises, growth in franchises, net worth in franchises, net worth requirements, royalty and franchise fee that people looking into small business ownership would be researching in their process. Additionally, the article highlights the growth of the pet care industry as American's love their pets and will pay for the pet sitting and dog walking services that Fetch! Pet Care provides. The ability for Fetch! franchisees to operate as a home-based business also allows new owners to get started quickly and reduces initial start-up costs usually associated with retail or food franchise costs. Click here to view the full article.

8 Low-Cost Franchises for Hard Times

Recession or no recession, people love their pets, and will pay good money for their care, including shelling our for walking and sitting services when they're away. Fetch! Pet Care franchisees take care of all kinds of pets - dogs, cats, birds and even spiders. They aim to have background checked walkers and sitters available whenever pet owners need them. The Walnut Creek, Calif.-based firm also provides services such as puppy training and yard cleanup.

(Read More)

Fetch! Pet Care featured on FranchiseChatter.com

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured on FranchiseChatter.com in an article called “Exclusive Q&A with Paul Mann, CEO of Fetch! Pet Care, America’s Largest Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Franchise.” Paul Mann discusses the entrepreneurial story behind Fetch!, and the attributes that make Fetch! a great franchise opportunity, and how someone can become a part of the system. Click here to view the entire article.

Exclusive Q&A with Paul Mann, CEO of Fetch! Pet Care, America’s Largest Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Franchise

By: Ambrosio

Fetch! Pet Care is America’s largest pet sitting and dog walking franchise — with over 150 franchises servicing more than 1,800 cities and towns nationwide, and over 10,000 clients in the past year alone.

Paul Mann founded Fetch! Pet Care in 2002 as a San Francisco Bay Area local pet sitting and dog walking service.  The company began franchising in 2004, after experiencing rapid growth and profitability.

Prior to Fetch! Pet Care, Paul co-founded Informative Inc., an internet software technology company and a pioneer in online survey technology. He subsequently served as its CEO and a board member.  Paul grew the business to over 70 employees with over 300 Fortune 500 customers generating $5 million annually before selling the company in February 2001 to an international software development firm.

(Read More)

Fetch! Pet Care featured in Delta Sky Magazine

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in Delta Sky Magazine in an article entitled“One, Then Many.” Fetch! Pet Care franchisee Kelly Strowd was featured for her experience in owning her own business with Fetch!  Tired of her job as a police officer, Strowd became a Fetch! franchisee in 2006 due to her love of animals. In just a short time, she acquired more territories and expanded her business which further solidified her decision to go into franchising.  Click here to view the full article on pages 4 & 5.

One, Then Many
By: Jonathan Maze

Kelly Strowd never imagined she would operate a franchise. As a police detective investigating sexual assaults and domestic violence in Carrboro County, North Carolina, she enjoyed good benefits, but the pay wasn't enough that she could envision herself owning a business.

Still, the stress of her job was wearing on her. "I was getting burned out," she says. So when she saw a newspaper ad for a new pet sitting franchise called Fetch, she was intrigued. An animal lover, she had been involved in dachshund rescue services and had cared for five dachshunds herself.


(Read More)