Pet care is no longer a "nice-to-have" category - it's a lifestyle category. Pet parents want trusted professionals and services that fit seamlessly into their busy schedules. That's wherWoofie’s, the full-service mobile pet care franchise, wins.

“One of the biggest differentiators is our full-service mobile pet care,” said Jordan Wilson, Chief Development Officer at Authority Brands. “Woofie’s blends pet grooming, dog walking, and pet sitting, so it stands apart from concepts that focus on only one service line.”

And the timing matters. Woofie's is no longer a small but emerging concept proving its model - it's a scaled, award-recognized brand, positioned for accelerated growth with the support and infrastructure of Authority Brands behind it.

A Brand Built on Trust, Grown Through Service

Woofie’s was founded in 2004 in Ashburn, Virginia, by neighbors Amy Addington and Leslie Barron, two corporate professionals who saw a gap in their own community for reliable pet care. What began with walking a single dog for $10 quickly grew as word spread among local pet parents who valued trust, consistency, and personalized care. As demand increased, the founders expanded beyond dog walking into pet sitting — including overnight and 24-hour care — and later into mobile pet grooming.

Over the next decade, Woofie’s earned regional and national recognition for service excellence, including being named one of the Top 100 Small Businesses in the U.S. by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and appearing on CNBC’s “The Job Interview”.

After years of refining the model in company-owned operations, Woofie’s launched franchising in 2018. A pivotal moment came in 2022, when Woofie’s was acquired by Authority Brands. Since joining the Authority Brands family, Woofie’s has accelerated development, expanded its national footprint, and strengthened its operational systems — positioning the brand to scale more confidently while staying true to the community-driven values that have guided it for more than 20 years.

The Strength of the Woofie’s Mobile, Recurring Revenue Business Model

One of Woofie’s greatest strengths as a franchise is the simplicity of its model. At its core, Woofie’s is a mobile, service-based business. That means franchisees avoid the expensive overhead and complex buildouts that come with traditional brick-and-mortar concepts. Instead of managing a storefront, owners focus on scheduling, staffing, and customer experience, allowing them to scale as demand grows in their territory.

At the same time, Woofie’s is not dependent on a single service, nor is it selling a job as a groomer. The brand is explicit that aspiring owners do not need to be groomers to start. They need to be business-minded leaders who can build a team and follow the playbook. The brand combines mobile pet groomingdog walking, and pet sitting (including overnight and bed-and-biscuit care at a sitter’s house) to create recurring revenue streams within the same household. Grooming clients often become dog-walking or pet-sitting clients and vice versa, increasing lifetime customer value without requiring additional marketing spend. And because the brand serves recurring needs, customers have more reasons to stay engaged year-round.

“Our franchisees are very heavily community involved,” Wilson said. “Sometimes they’ll go set up at events and have their mobile service. In other words, it’s not just a service business — it’s a neighborhood brand.”

Just as important: Woofie’s isn’t selling a job as a groomer. 

Woofie’s positions itself as a lower-cost entry into pet services — the estimated initial investment ranges from approximately $180,423 to $294,651, as reported in Item 7 of the Franchise Disclosure Document. For many candidates, this hits the sweet spot: a business you can build and scale without the heavy buildout and long construction timelines of traditional brick-and-mortar concepts.

The Backing and Support of Authority Brands

Looking ahead, Woofie’s is well-positioned to leverage the emotional pull of pet care, along with the operational support of a multi-brand franchisor. As part of Authority Brands’ portfolio, Woofie’s can lean into shared resources, proven playbooks, and growth expertise to support franchisees.

"The operations and support team is very in tune with our network and works one-on-one with our owners,” Wilson said. “They involve their franchise owners, and they utilize them for best practices to ensure we’re offering the best product to our clients."

And in pet care, the product is trust. Woofie’s protects that trust with training and standards designed to professionalize service delivery across markets. The brand’s partnership with the American Kennel Club (AKC), for example, gives Woofie’s teams and franchisees access to the AKC S.A.F.E. Grooming Program and standardized safety training and certification pathways. Additionally, the brand also has premium strategic partnerships with Vet Telehealth and The Farmer’s Dog, elevating service quality and brand trust.

“The fact that all of Woofie’s support team is so accessible has exceeded our expectations, and this gives us great confidence,” said Teferi Dejene, owner of Woofie's South Riding, Virginia.

Why Now: The Category Is Rising and Woofie’s Is Still Wide Open

The amount spent on pets in the U.S. (products and services) in the last year was over $128 billion. Pet grooming, once an afterthought, has become a consistent, high-value service. The United States pet grooming market is now worth over $2 billion, with the global market topping $6.89 billion. 

And with over 96 million households owning at least one pet and pet care spending continuing to climb, pet parents are spending more on services, not less. Convenience is also becoming a deciding factor. Woofie’s is built to capitalize on that shift.

"The mobile grooming spa concept has exploded in popularity, largely driven by the shifting work landscape,” said Wilson. “The need for a convenient service like this is highly correlated with people transitioning back to the office after working from home."

At the same time, Woofie’s remains in an expansion phase with meaningful territory availability, giving early- to mid-stage owners the chance to enter while whitespace still exists, but with a concept that’s already proven and supported at scale. The brand is currently prioritizing expansion in Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Cleveland, OH; Charleston, SC; San Antonio, TX; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; and Charlotte, NC.

So, who is the brand looking for? 

“Woofie’s is a fantastic business opportunity for the right person — someone who loves pets but understands that success comes from running it like a professional operation,” Wilson said. “You don’t have to be a groomer, but you absolutely have to be ready to be a business owner. If that sounds like what you are looking for, Woofie’s is an amazing opportunity in the booming pet care industry.”

For more information, visit: https://ownawoofies.com/.

Pet care is no longer a "nice-to-have" category - it's a lifestyle category. Pet parents want trusted professionals and services that fit seamlessly into their busy schedules. That's wherWoofie’s, the full-service mobile pet care franchise, wins.

“One of the biggest differentiators is our full-service mobile pet care,” said Jordan Wilson, Chief Development Officer at Authority Brands. “Woofie’s blends pet grooming, dog walking, and pet sitting, so it stands apart from concepts that focus on only one service line.”

And the timing matters. Woofie's is no longer a small but emerging concept proving its model - it's a scaled, award-recognized brand, positioned for accelerated growth with the support and infrastructure of Authority Brands behind it.

A Brand Built on Trust, Grown Through Service

Woofie’s was founded in 2004 in Ashburn, Virginia, by neighbors Amy Addington and Leslie Barron, two corporate professionals who saw a gap in their own community for reliable pet care. What began with walking a single dog for $10 quickly grew as word spread among local pet parents who valued trust, consistency, and personalized care. As demand increased, the founders expanded beyond dog walking into pet sitting — including overnight and 24-hour care — and later into mobile pet grooming.

Over the next decade, Woofie’s earned regional and national recognition for service excellence, including being named one of the Top 100 Small Businesses in the U.S. by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and appearing on CNBC’s “The Job Interview”.

After years of refining the model in company-owned operations, Woofie’s launched franchising in 2018. A pivotal moment came in 2022, when Woofie’s was acquired by Authority Brands. Since joining the Authority Brands family, Woofie’s has accelerated development, expanded its national footprint, and strengthened its operational systems — positioning the brand to scale more confidently while staying true to the community-driven values that have guided it for more than 20 years.

The Strength of the Woofie’s Mobile, Recurring Revenue Business Model

One of Woofie’s greatest strengths as a franchise is the simplicity of its model. At its core, Woofie’s is a mobile, service-based business. That means franchisees avoid the expensive overhead and complex buildouts that come with traditional brick-and-mortar concepts. Instead of managing a storefront, owners focus on scheduling, staffing, and customer experience, allowing them to scale as demand grows in their territory.

At the same time, Woofie’s is not dependent on a single service, nor is it selling a job as a groomer. The brand is explicit that aspiring owners do not need to be groomers to start. They need to be business-minded leaders who can build a team and follow the playbook. The brand combines mobile pet groomingdog walking, and pet sitting (including overnight and bed-and-biscuit care at a sitter’s house) to create recurring revenue streams within the same household. Grooming clients often become dog-walking or pet-sitting clients and vice versa, increasing lifetime customer value without requiring additional marketing spend. And because the brand serves recurring needs, customers have more reasons to stay engaged year-round.

“Our franchisees are very heavily community involved,” Wilson said. “Sometimes they’ll go set up at events and have their mobile service. In other words, it’s not just a service business — it’s a neighborhood brand.”

Just as important: Woofie’s isn’t selling a job as a groomer. 

Woofie’s positions itself as a lower-cost entry into pet services — the estimated initial investment ranges from approximately $180,423 to $294,651, as reported in Item 7 of the Franchise Disclosure Document. For many candidates, this hits the sweet spot: a business you can build and scale without the heavy buildout and long construction timelines of traditional brick-and-mortar concepts.

The Backing and Support of Authority Brands

Looking ahead, Woofie’s is well-positioned to leverage the emotional pull of pet care, along with the operational support of a multi-brand franchisor. As part of Authority Brands’ portfolio, Woofie’s can lean into shared resources, proven playbooks, and growth expertise to support franchisees.

"The operations and support team is very in tune with our network and works one-on-one with our owners,” Wilson said. “They involve their franchise owners, and they utilize them for best practices to ensure we’re offering the best product to our clients."

And in pet care, the product is trust. Woofie’s protects that trust with training and standards designed to professionalize service delivery across markets. The brand’s partnership with the American Kennel Club (AKC), for example, gives Woofie’s teams and franchisees access to the AKC S.A.F.E. Grooming Program and standardized safety training and certification pathways. Additionally, the brand also has premium strategic partnerships with Vet Telehealth and The Farmer’s Dog, elevating service quality and brand trust.

“The fact that all of Woofie’s support team is so accessible has exceeded our expectations, and this gives us great confidence,” said Teferi Dejene, owner of Woofie's South Riding, Virginia.

Why Now: The Category Is Rising and Woofie’s Is Still Wide Open

The amount spent on pets in the U.S. (products and services) in the last year was over $128 billion. Pet grooming, once an afterthought, has become a consistent, high-value service. The United States pet grooming market is now worth over $2 billion, with the global market topping $6.89 billion. 

And with over 96 million households owning at least one pet and pet care spending continuing to climb, pet parents are spending more on services, not less. Convenience is also becoming a deciding factor. Woofie’s is built to capitalize on that shift.

"The mobile grooming spa concept has exploded in popularity, largely driven by the shifting work landscape,” said Wilson. “The need for a convenient service like this is highly correlated with people transitioning back to the office after working from home."

At the same time, Woofie’s remains in an expansion phase with meaningful territory availability, giving early- to mid-stage owners the chance to enter while whitespace still exists, but with a concept that’s already proven and supported at scale. The brand is currently prioritizing expansion in Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Cleveland, OH; Charleston, SC; San Antonio, TX; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; and Charlotte, NC.

So, who is the brand looking for? 

“Woofie’s is a fantastic business opportunity for the right person — someone who loves pets but understands that success comes from running it like a professional operation,” Wilson said. “You don’t have to be a groomer, but you absolutely have to be ready to be a business owner. If that sounds like what you are looking for, Woofie’s is an amazing opportunity in the booming pet care industry.”

For more information, visit: https://ownawoofies.com/.

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Luca Piacentini

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Luca Piacentini

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1851 Managing Editor

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