Background & History

Ownership Background and History

The Pets Are Inn concept was founded in 1982 when Harry & Kal Sanders-Greenberg discovered that the family pet Chopin (who is a person that is disguised as a dog) did not do well when boarded in a kennel. On subsequent vacations, they like most people, boarded Chopin with friends. Even though this was much preferable as Chopin’s life had been less stressful, and needless to say he was pampered and considered one of the family, they became uncomfortable imposing on friends and relatives. It seemed that they had inadvertently stumbled upon an ideal alternative to kennel boarding. Namely, an individual who is uncomfortable with leaving his/her pet in a kennel would be delighted to find a genuine, humane alternative that spoke equally to the customers’ and pets’ needs.

Thus, Pets Are Inn was born as the “#1 Alternative for Boarding Your Pet While You’re Away” with “All the Comforts of Home.” Now, finding a loving family to care for your pet is not solely dependent upon having relatives or friends on hand since Pets Are Inn boards customers’ pets in private homes! Pets Are Inn’s sudden success and attendant publicity reinforced what was already known: pet lovers would be quick to patronize a boarding service that delivered personalized care and with lots of love!

The Sanders-Greenberg’s operated their business as a sole proprietorship from November 1, 1982, until January 9, 1985, and did not offer franchises for sale. Pets Are Inn Ltd., a Minnesota Corporation, was formed to sell franchises and operated as such from January 9, 1985 until June 12,1992.

On June 12, 1992 Ann and Jim Platt purchased the Pets Are Inn franchising system and on July 23, 1992 incorporated the system as Pets Are Inn, Inc. a Minnesota Corporation.

The Platt’s had been operating a franchise in Minneapolis, Minnesota since October 1, 1987. Ann had come to the point in her business career that it was time to go out on her own in business. Being raised on a dairy farm in South Central Minnesota, Ann was not afraid of work and had developed a genuine love for animals. A graduate with a B.S. from Mankato State University in Business, Ann had developed her sales and sales management experience with Xerox corporation. Utilizing this experience, her territory grew rapidly to become the number one franchise in Pets Are Inn. Since purchase, Ann’s territory has grown beyond her wildest expectations. She used her business and educational background to redefine the host family and owner profiles, to update and expand the owner and host family agreements, and to initiate a computerized record keeping system. It is through her efforts that the Pets Are Inn system has received a higher level of acceptance and success. Ann assists in training all new franchise owners.

While Ann’s efforts had been directed at operating the existing franchise, Jim, who is also know as “Bucky”, has been Ann’s number one helper and supporter. Jim has a B.S. in Industrial Management from Purdue University and comes from a family who were also animal lovers. Being originally from Indiana, Jim’s father and grandfather raised Beagles for hunting. However, the family “house dog”, in those days, was always a “Heinz 57 Variety”, usually obtained from the animal shelter. Jim has been involved in a variety of positions in the areas of real estate and sales, marketing, finance, management and training. He learned first hand entrepreneurial skill as owner of 1st American Realty, Inc., a Minnesota corporation, incorporated July 11, 1978. He has functioned as director of training for real estate and insurance professionals for Minnesota Technical Colleges. Jim will be using his educational and professional background in the areas of sales, marketing, and training to expand the Pets Are Inn System nationally.

Upon purchasing the Pets Are Inn franchising system, Ann and Jim (“Bucky”) received immediate acceptance and support of the existing franchise owners.

The Pets Are Inn concept is working well nationally. For the right individual(s), there still is an excellent opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this innovative, successful, and proven business opportunity. In the next section, we will examine why franchising is so powerful and the qualifications Pets Are Inn is looking for in new franchise owners.