Background

North America’s pet care industry is booming with ~$100B in sales, >68% of households owning at least one pet, and the trend of  “humanizing” our pets is accelerating.   

The dog care services sector is particularly attractive as it is immune to the e-commerce “Amazon phenomenon” and has proven recession-resistant, experiencing growth during the last two recessions and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Dogtopia is the leading provider of dog daycare in North America with 150+ locations open and 250+ locations in the development pipeline. 

Dogtopia offers daycare which, like childcare, provides sticky recurring revenue, supported by boarding and spa services. Dogtopia’s model delivers 20% EBITDA and same-store annual revenue growth of 12% due to solid franchisee training and proven operational systems. During the pandemic, dog daycare services have been deemed essential services and the business model has shown strong resilience.

A lucrative investment opportunity exists due to a fragmented market of unsophisticated independent daycare operators, few national brands, low market penetration, and a long runway for growth.  

Strategy

We will seek to generate significant investment returns by leveraging Dogtopia’s brand strength and utilizing our team’s deep expertise franchising, owning, and operating Dogtopia locations. 

We will: 

  • Continue to grow the Dogtopia Canada franchise network
  • Grow the portfolio of Dogtopia locations (by owning and managing, JV, debt financing) throughout Canada and the Seattle area

Dogtopia is the leading dog daycare brand in Canada and The DOG Fund has acquired the Dogtopia Canada Master Franchise. In addition, we have also acquired the area development rights for Seattle; we are well-positioned to scale and acquire investments accretively, through our strong pipeline of investment targets and exceptional operational and investment teams.