Image: PCFA

Barking Mad, the UK’s most trusted dog sitting service has partnered with several other leading pet-care franchisors to put the welfare of pets at the forefront of the £3.1 billion industry (Statista, 2021). Collectively, the franchisors have formed the Pet Care Franchise Association (PCFA). The main objective of the group is to improve animal welfare standards in the pet-care industry across the UK.

Together with other leading pet care franchisors, including Petpals, Pet Stay and We Love Pets, Barking Mad Dog Care are working on initiatives which will appeal to the relevant government authorities in raising the ceiling for ethical pet care through both the training and licensing of pet-care activities.

Rachel Stewart, Managing Director of Barking Mad Dog Care said: “As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of UK dog owners has increased significantly which has resulted in an increased demand for dog and pet care services. However, this has also led to an increase in the number of unlicensed dog care providers offering pet care services without the training, support or licence required to care for an animal.”

“Together with the other pet care franchisors in the PCFA, we are aiming to reduce the inconsistencies in how local authorities interpret Defra’s boarding and animal care regulations, cut the red tape and put the focus back onto animal.”

“At Barking Mad, animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on our commitment to supporting our franchisees and host families to care for our customers dogs in a home from home environment to the best of our abilities, which is reflected in our 5-star Excellent Trustpilot rating.”

“We offer fully insured and licensed dog home boarding care. Our model works by the branch owner (franchisee) obtaining an ‘arrangers’ licence. This mean that each Barking Mad Host family falls under the franchisee’s insurance and pet care licence. We often get questions like “Why are your hosts not licensed?” However, the answer is that host dog sitters fall under the franchisees licence. In fact, in many cases the local animal license inspector visits host homes’ too, which means host families are listed on the main branch licence.”

“Each Barking Mad branch goes the extra mile to ensure we are the best dog sitters we can be. We achieve this by recruiting only carefully selected host families, who are committed to providing first class dog care. We always register our host families in person to ensure they have a secure property, a secure outside space and experience with dogs. We are on-hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for our host dog sitters, to offer any support they may require.”

Franchisee, Donna with Host, Jane.

Barking Mad is encouraging pet owners to ensure they look for quality when booking pet care services. Top tips include asking the pet care provider about:

– Local authority licence

– Insurance

– The type of property the dog will be cared for in

– Reviews and ratings

– Trial stay

All Barking Mad franchisees are members of the PCFA and are actively working with the City of London to ensure the correct licences are obtained from local authorities. The relationship with City of London, secured by Barking Mad is a Primary Authority relationship which means they act as a Primary Authority and they help franchisees to navigate their way through licensing to ensure all Barking Mad local branches are fully licensed.

The PCFA as a trade organisation will expand in the coming years to allow other pet care franchisors to join and Barking Mad look forward to welcoming new franchisor members.

For more information about the PCFA, please visit www.pcfa.uk