FETCH! Pet Care ™ Launches ‘Go Fetch!’ Four-Legged Fitness Service Now Available Throughout its National Franchise Network

With one out of every four dogs and cats in the western world reportedly obese, Fido and Felix are battling a health crisis of their own. With this in mind, FETCH! Pet Care, America’s largest and most sophisticated pet care Franchise offering professional pet sitting and dog walking services, today announced it has launched “Go Fetch!” – the company’s newest service option intended to get each client’s dog or cat up and moving for a sustained period of time. During each visit pets enjoy stimulating and enjoyable activities, while receiving attentive loving care in the process.

Studies show that the incidence of animal obesity is escalating. And, like obese humans, weight-challenged animals run a higher risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and joint and hip difficulties, among other problems. FETCH! Pet Care’s new “Go Fetch!” service option is intended to proactively help stem this ominous trend by ensuring the animals under their care get a daily dose of physical fitness.

In fact, the professionals at FETCH! Pet Care take the health and well-being of animals under their care very seriously, and the company’s services extend far beyond the provision of food and water. With the advent of  “Go Fetch!,” it’s now nothing short of a corporate mandate that, with each visitation, each client’s pet gets up, moving and having fun. FETCH! Pet Care sitters arrive at the client’s home outfitted with balls, frisbees, play toys, string and sheer enthusiasm to give the dogs and cats in their care a fun-filled daily workout. Each animal exercise regime is carefully tailored to the pet’s age, ability, health condition, preferences and temperament.

“Although Americans spend over $35-billion annually on pet-related goods and services, these animal obesity statistics underscore that, despite how much they love their animal, many pet owners simply don’t consider exercise as a fundamental way to foster their dog or cat’s happiness, overall well-being and longevity,” said FETCH! Pet Care founder & CEO Paul Mann. “Even those owners who do recognize the importance of ’four legged fitness’ simply can’t carve the time out of their busy schedules to make it happen. This is why we established ‘Go Fetch!’ – an initiative that is entirely synergistic with many of our established services, including private dog walks, group off-leash outings, daily visits and day care.”

Keeping a pet’s weight in check through daily exercise provides them with many benefits, both physical and emotional. FETCH! Pet Care offers these insights on the importance of pet-focused Phys-Ed:

• Health: As with humans, daily exercise provides animals with a variety of health benefits, including improved metabolism and digestion, enhancement of the immune system to better ward off illness, increases in bone and muscle density and overall strength, as well as maximized cardiovascular system function…not to mention substantial veterinary cost savings.
• Energy: Daily walks or play sessions are a great way of energizing lethargic and/or overweight pets, and will give them a much-needed spring in their step.
• Temperament: High strung, hyperactive or even aggressive dogs are often quite calm and relaxed after a good day’s workout. Regular exercise will keep these angst-ridden pets in a greater state of contentment.
• Sleep: Want a good night’s sleep? So does your pet! Daily exercise can greatly improve the quality of Fido and Felix’s overnight slumber – and in doing so, perhaps yours as well.
• Socialization: New pups, adopted pets, those received as gifts and/or the timid especially benefit from daily exposure to, and playful interaction with, both humans and other dogs.
• Happiness: Pets that exercise daily often thrive on, and return, the love and attention they receive from humans and their furry friends during the process.
• Longevity: We all want our pets to be around as long as possible, and daily exercise is one way to help assure that. The multitude of health benefits daily exercise provides can help your dog or cat live a longer, healthier and happier life.

How do you know if your pet is obese? According to a report issued by the National Academy of Sciences, “A dog is at an ideal weight when one can easily feel the ribs with a minimal amount of fat, and when the waist is easily observed behind the ribs when viewed from above. At an ideal weight, a cat appears well-proportioned, shows a moderate waistline behind the ribs, and has a thin covering of fat over the ribs and abdomen.”

FETCH! Pet Care currently services almost 1,000 cities and towns throughout Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas. The company provides a range of services that meet every need and budget, including boarding and daycare in the sitter’s home, overnight sitting or daily visits in the client’s home, private and group dog walks, pet taxiing, animal waste removal, and miscellaneous home care. A free in-home consultation permits clients, pets and sitters to get pre-acquainted and address each pet’s unique needs.

Mann concludes, “The demand for professional pet care services is at an all-time high – especially those that allow pets to maintain their routine while receiving the attention they need. With many pet owners frustrated by the lack of professional and reliable caregivers, or reluctant to kennel their pets due to health and other concerns, our safe, convenient, and nurturing care provides peace of mind.”

Consumers can reach FETCH! Pet Care through its Web site or via toll-free telephone at 1-866-FETCH-ME, where they simply enter their 5-digit zip code to be quickly connected to the FETCH! Pet Care office nearest them.

About FETCH! Pet Care, Inc.
Founded in 2002 and with almost 1,000 service areas across the United States, FETCH! Pet Care is the pet sitting industry market leader - the new face of pet care in the 21 st century. The company, which has been featured in Small Business Opportunities magazine’s top 20 “Boom Businesses” to get into, named among Pet Product News International’s “25 to Watch in 2007” and included in Entrepreneur magazine’s coveted franchise 500 list in January 2007, offers a humane alternative to kennel boarding by providing loving overnight and/or daily care to any kind of pet in the most professional and reliable manner possible. FETCH! Pet Care’s carefully selected, screened and trained pet sitters and dog walkers, who are all pet owners themselves, have serviced over 5,000 clients this past year alone, and the company is a proud standing member of Pet Sitters International - the world’s foremost organization for professional pet sitters. For franchise information or to find a location near you, visit the company’s Web site or call the corporate office at 1-866-FETCH-ME.