Cloning of Pets - Would you Clone Your Cat or Dog?

Filed Under Pet News, Pet Products | Leave a Comment

Cloning of PetsYesterday I read an article online about a new service offered to pet owners in South Korea. Owners who just can’t let go of their favorite dog now have the option of having them cloned.

This is something we have joked about in our family - my step-son Andrew has suggested the cloning of our cat Bouie as he is such a personality, so affectionate, and so laid back. But I don’t think I would really want my cat cloned. Somehow even if a new cat looked and acted just like him - it still wouldn’t be Bouie. I think it would seem odd and manufactured.

I do feel that cloning a pet would also be a crime when we have such a homeless pet problem and so many pets need a good home. How many  homeless pets could given a loving home if less people bought pets from breeders and pet cloning agencies?  For this reason I would be against this service being offered to mainstream pet owners.

It’s certain that not everyone will be able to afford the service - it currently runs at $50,000 to $100,000. Most customers for this service are looking to clone working dogs and endangered breeds. For example the South Korean customs service has cloned sniffer dogs as the cost of cloning is far less than the training process and screening that goes into finding dogs to train for their programs.

I’m interested in your opinion! What do you think of the pet cloning service? If the price falls to an affordable level would you ever consider cloning one of your pets? Have you ever had a client pet that you would have liked to clone?

Tell me by leaving a comment on this post…

Tags :, , , ,

Pet Sitters International State of Industry Survey Results

Filed Under Pet News | 2 Comments

This year I participated in PSI’s State of the Pet Sitting Industry survey and today I received an email with the early results. The information about pet sitting clients can help you tailor your marketing efforts to attract more ideal customers.  Here is your sneak peek!

This year’s survey was conducted exclusively online. PSI conducted the survey from April 9, 2008, to April 27, 2008. A total of 1,814 members completed the survey, which is a 24 percent response rate.   RESULTS  

Business Profile  

98% of all businesses are independently owned.

84% of these businesses are owned by women.

On average, 12% of members have at least one full-time employee and 23 % have at least one part-time employee.  

Businesses that made $40,000 or more in 2007 on average have one full-time employee.  

On average, those who have been members for more than 7 years and made more than $40,000 in 2007 have 2 part-time employees.  

52% of members state they never use independent contractors—23% say they rarely do.  

84% of members carry both liability and bonding insurance (This percentage decreases slightly to 77% for those who have been members less than a year.) 

Nearly all PSI members service both Dogs and Cats (97%), while two-thirds service Fish (69%), Birds (68%), and Cage Pets (66%).  

44% of members primarily service suburban areas—58% of members located in the Northeast United States primarily service suburban areas, more than any other location.  

Median revenue for 2007 was $20,000, median number of clients was 50, and median number of pet-sitting assignments was 775.  

The median number of pet-sitting assignments quadruples to 3,506 for those who made more than $40,000 in 2007.  

The average length of time taken to service a client was 38 minutes.  

The average fee charged for a visit was $18.51.

  More than 90% of all members advertise through Word of Mouth (98%), Business Cards (96%), and PSI Pet Sitter Locator Web (94%).  

68% of all members advertise through their own Web sites. 

The top five services offered by members are: Basic pet care (95%), Dog walking (92%), Care of special needs pets (85%), Pet transportation (62%) and Overnight sitting (54%).  

PSI Member Profile  

The typical member is Female (92%), Age 41 to 60 (60%), Caucasian (94%), Married (59%) and Owns her home (82%).  Additionally, she has completed at least some college (88%), entered the pet-sitting industry due to her love of animals (55%), and has been in the business for 5 years or less (61%).  

Pet sitters most commonly own Dogs (79%) and Cats (61%).  Of these, members typically own 2 dogs and 3 cats.  Approximately one-third of all members belong to the following organizations: Animal Rescue (39%), ASPCA (37%), Local Humane Society (36%), Local Pet Sitters Network (35%), and Pet Sitters Associates LLC (31%).  

57% of all members belong to their local Chamber of Commerce, and 23%belong to Better Business Bureau.  

Pet Sitting Client Profile  

On average the typical pet-sitter client is a married couple between the ages of 36-50.  Members state there are more married couples without children (40.5%), than couples with children (28.9%) who utilize their services.  

Single females (24.6%) tend to use pet sitters at a higher rate than males (10%).  

Individuals ages 26-35 (24.4%) and 51-65 (23.8%) appear to utilize pet sitters at the same rate.  

Less than 25 years old was the smallest group, making up only 4.2% of all clients.  80.3% of all clients pay in the form of a check—only 17.3% pay with cashn and 7.2% use a debit/credit card.  

The top three reasons for the use of pet sitters are:  Vacations, Midday walksn & visits, and Work schedule.  

Technology  

34% of members were highly interested in participating in PSI Webinars.  The same number of members was moderately interested.

Pet sitters who have been in the business less than one year had much higher interest (51%).  

“Pet Care and Education,” “Running Your Pet-Sitting Business,” and “Marketing/Advertising” were the top three topics mentioned for possible PSI Webinars.  

More than 57% of members stated that petsit.com is the Web site visited most often for pet sitting and business-related issues.  

58% visit the site at least once a month or more.

46% stated they visit the Members Only section at least once a month. Of those who have been members less than one year, 67% visit at least once a month (22% once a week or more)   

Tags :

How to Be an Environmentally Friendly Pet Owner

Filed Under Pet News, Pet Health | Leave a Comment

When examining what you can do for the environment the simplest answers are often right at your feet.  Those furry little creatures we love so much, our cats and dogs, offer a truly great way to not only do our share to improve the environment but to give them better care.  Here are five things you can do right now to be a greener pet owner.Dogs unlike cats leave little packages outside.  Cleaning up their waste for disposal keeps our water supply much cleaner however rather than using a standard bag, consider using a biodegradable animal waste bag found at your local pet store.  Biodegradable bags ensure your dog’s waste ends up at the junkyard where measures are taken to keep chemicals from leaching into the water supply and the material is allowed to degrade naturally so it doesn’t consume space and stay in our landfills for decades. 

Natural product cat litter is sure to keep toxins out of your home and your environment.  Did you know that many kitty litter products contain silica dust which is a known carcinogen.  There are however several viable alternatives which are made out of natural products like wood chips or recycled newspapers.  Some can even be flushed right down your toilet and are harmless to your septic system and our ground water.  The good news is they can be found at your local pet store. Organic shampoos and cleaners are a pet owners best bet. Many pet care products contain Phthalates and/or Triclosan both known toxins which make their way into our ground water and eventually into our drinking glasses.  Organic shampoos and cleaners do not contain these chemicals and are therefore safer for our environment. 

Purchase non plastic pet products.  Many pet products contain Phthalates and Bisphenol A which are both harmful to your pet and can contaminate our ground water.  Some animals can actually have allergic reactions to these chemicals and can suffer symptoms ranging from warts on their cute faces to lung and breathing difficulties. Who can forget the contaminated pet food scare last summer?  So many of our favorite furry loved ones suffered illness and even death.  Most pet foods contain preservatives, additives, chemicals for coloring and even fragrance and toxins.  These toxins come both from the production process as well as natural process like molding and fermenting which produce dangerous effects.  Organic food means no chemicals in your pet and no chemicals on the ground or in our water supply.  They’re also significantly healthier for your cat or dog.   

Ready to do your part to help your environment?  Partner with your pet for a better, cleaner, and healthier world for you and for them.

Tags :,

Use Press Releases to Attract More Customers, Get Recognized, and Get Website Traffic

Filed Under Pet News, Pet Business Tips, My Pet Business | 2 Comments

This week I sent out my first press releases for distribution on the internet. This has been on my to-do list for some time but one of those things I’ve been procrastinating about. It was so quick and easy I won’t delay next time I have something to publicize. I found some great tools to make the writing easy and with some website recommendations I went out to about 8 sites to fill out their submission forms and get them published on the web.

Press releases can be a great way to get more traffic to you website and get local publicity with news shows and papers. They can also be an inexpensive method of advertising and connecting with pet owners. Getting press releases published via online services will also get you back links to your pet business website which will help your rankings in the major search engines.

A press release is typically appropriate to send out whenever you launch a new service or product, to announce a promotion or competition, highlight a community event or fundraiser you participated in, or to announce a special event or anniversary. There are also special pet weeks such as Pet Sitters International “Take Your Dog to Work Week” that you can promote.  If you don’t currently have anything to announce get involved or start your own competition or event for your customers!

You will need to format your release correctly to make sure it is accepted by the editorial staff at the submission site or local news office. Here is a quick example of the standard layout:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Contact Person
Company Name
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Email Address
Web site address

Headline

City, State, Date — Opening Paragraph (should contain: who, what, when, where, why):

Remainder of body text - Should include any relevant information to your products or services. Include benefits, why your product or service is unique. Also include quotes from staff members, industry experts or satisfied customers.

If there is more than 1 page use:

-more-

(The top of the next page):

Abbreviated headline (page 2)

Remainder of text.

(Restate Contact information after your last paragraph):

For additional information or a sample copy, Contact: (all Contact information)

Summarize product or service specifications one last time

Company History (try to do this in one short paragraph)

# # #
(indicates Press Release is finished)

Once you have your release written submit it online using the forms at the following sites:

http://www.prleap.com

http://www.prweb.com 

http://www.addpr.com

http://www.openpr.com

http://www.express-press-release.com

http://www.free-press-release.com

http://www.pressreleasespider.com

http://www.i-newswire.com

Most allow free submission. PRweb.com is the most recognized distributor and I highly recommend spending a few dollars to get your release on their site. Their site says that you have to pay $40 fee but when you get to the pay part of filling out their form, click the button that says “Choose Other Amount” and change the $40 to $10.

If you also want to distribute to local news and radio you can research and find contacts in the yellow pages, and by reading newspapers and magazines and noting the names of reporters that cover similar topics. Their contact details should be listed with the story. You can also use online directories to find contacts such as http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/

Once you have their contact details call them and find out how they want to get your release: email, fax, or snail mail. Send out your release to each reporter via their preferred method to get the best response.

To write my press releases I used a tool from Alice Seba called the Press Release Pack that gave me ready to use, fill in the blanks, customizable templates. These templates allowed me setup my press release for the launch of

Pet Business Success Circle

in less than 15 minutes. There are several packs for different situations and are reasonably priced - you can see them all and get more info at http://www.allpresscontent.com/.

You can also have press releases written for you by Rachel Monroe. I used Rachel to write a release to announce my pet charity donation program last year which I distributed to local newspapers. Rachel specializes in pet business copywriting and knows what to write to connect with pet owners.  

Tags :, ,

Emerging Market for Products for Disabled and Elderly Pets

Filed Under Pet News, Pet Business Tips | 1 Comment

Yesterday I interviewed Jeanie Kraft, a pet acupuncturist for my soon to be released Secrets of Pet Business Success Audio interview series. In our discussion Jeanie mentioned that she is seeing growth in her pet therapy business as owners are looking for alternative ways to relieve pain in their pets that suffer from chronic diseases and allergies.  These owners want the lives of their animals to be as comfortable as possible in their later years.

An article that I found today in the Huntington Post reminded me of this conversation and really brought home that the disabled pet market is one where many opportunities exists for new products and pet service businesses.  The Post article highlights the growing willingness of pet parents to spend money on their disabled and elderly pets to ensure their quality of life.  Here is an excerpt:

A growing number of pet owners are turning to custom-built wheelchairs to restore mobility to furry friends whose legs, hips or backs don’t work. The owners’ goals are simple: to reward their pets’ unconditional love with whatever it takes for the animals to live normally.

The two-wheel carts support the dog’s midsection with a padded saddle, and are secured with a shoulder yoke and chest strap. Most dogs have rear-wheel carts to compensate for lame hind legs, though a growing number of front-wheel carts are being ordered for animals with front-leg problems.

Donna Blain’s 7-year-old Maltese named Gizmo hopped and hobbled on his deformed front legs before she adopted him a year ago. She ordered his cart after learning the odd gait had damaged his spine and would have required surgery.

Now he wheels himself around for hours on sidewalks, in parks and anywhere he can find treats and praise.

“He’s into everything,” said Blain, of Woodstock, Conn. “He just wants to live, after all those years of really hobbling and not being able to get where he wanted to be.”

Eddie and Leslie Grinnell, founders of Eddie’s Wheels, built their first pet wheelchair in 1989 when their 10-year-old Doberman, Buddha, lost the use of her rear legs because of disc disease and spinal problems.

Their veterinarian, impressed by Buddha’s revived mobility and vitality, started referring others to the Grinnells. In 1998, they started their own business.

Similar wheelchair makers can be found in Montana, Maryland, Oregon, Washington and elsewhere. Most dog carts start around $250 and can exceed $500 based on the size of the dog, while the cost of wheelchairs for other animals can vary depending on the type and size of animal.

Since launching the business, Eddie’s Wheels has shipped carts worldwide _ the largest to a 220-pound Saint Bernard in Great Britain _ and has made wheelchairs for several cats, a ferret, alpacas, goats, sheep, a rabbit and a possum.

They even keep a supply of tiny wheels on hand for a gerbil or hamster.

Veterinarian Derek Fox, a University of Missouri professor specializing in orthopedic surgery for dogs, cats and other small animals, said pets that once would have been irreversibly crippled are benefiting from a variety of advancements: improved hip and joint replacements, better physical therapy and wheelchairs.

“Even if a treatment is expensive, these are people who say they’ll do anything to keep their pet moving, to keep them happy, to keep their quality of life up,” he said.

You can find the full article here.

I think that this trend is one that is here to stay and I hope that the growing consumer need will inspire the creation of many new products that will improve the lives of our pets.

How can you tailor the services that you provide in your business to disabled and elderly pets? Perhaps you can create a special package where you can combine massage, regular exercise, or other therapies into your visits or consultations and market them to pet owners.  You could also offer a selection of products for disabled pets or add a page to your website giving information about the special needs of elderly pets.

Let me know by leaving a comment if you already have a special service that you tailor for this market, or if you can suggest any great products that can benefit disabled or elderly pets.

Tags :, keep looking »