Pet Grandma offers on-site pet sitting services for dogs and cats, providing the personal loving pet care that the owners themselves would provide if they were there.

Our clients are dog and cat owners who choose to leave their pets at home when they travel or who want their pets to have company when their owners are at work. Pet Grandma offers a variety of pet care services from day visits through 24 hour care over a period of weeks – all in the pet’s home environment.

Across Canada the pet care business has seen an explosion of growth over the last three years. West Vancouver is an affluent area with a high pet density. Our market research has shown that 9 out of 10 pet owners polled in West Vancouver would prefer to have their pets cared for in their own homes when they travel rather than be kenneled and 6 out of 10 would consider having a pet sitter provide company for their dog when they were at work.

While there are currently eight businesses offering pet sitting in West Vancouver, only three of these offer on-site pet care and none offers “pet visit” services for working pet owners.

Pet Grandma’s marketing strategy is to emphasize the quality of pet care we provide (“a Grandma for your pet!”) and the availability of our services. Dog owners who work, for instance, will come home to find happy, friendly companions who have already been exercised and walked rather than demanding whiny animals.

All pet services will be provided by staff trained in animal care. On start up we will have six trained staff to provide pet services and expect to hire four more this year once financing is secured. To begin with, co-owner Pat Simpson will be scheduling appointments and coordinating services, but we plan to hire a full-time receptionist this year as well.

The management of Pet Grandma consists of co-owners Pat Simpson and Terry Estelle. Pat has extensive experience in animal care while Terry has worked in sales and marketing for 15 years. Both partners will be taking hands-on management roles in the company. In addition, we have assembled a board of advisors to provide management expertise. The advisors are: Juliette LeCroix, partner at LeCroix Accounting, Carey Boniface, veterinarian and partner at Little Tree Animal Care Clinic, John Toms, president of Toms Communications Ltd.

Based on the size of our market and our defined market area, our sales projections for the first year are $340,000. The salary for each of the co-owners will be $40,000.

We are seeking an operating line of $150,000 to finance our first year growth. Together, the co-owners have invested $62,000 to meet working capital requirements.

Already we have service commitments from over 40 clients and plan to aggressively build our client base through newspaper, local television and direct mail advertising. The loving on-site professional care that Pet Grandma will provide is sure to appeal to cat and dog owners throughout the West Vancouver area.