FranchiseVerdict
Dogtopia logo
FV-00773·STRONGExcellent95

Dogtopia

Formerly known as Better Together Home Care

Personal Services - Pet CareFranchising since 2005Website
Investment
$543K – $1.4M
85th pct Pet Care
Avg revenue
$932K
45th pct Pet Care
Royalty
7.0%
43rd pct Pet Care
Units
263
95th pct Pet Care
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $543K – $1.4M including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $932K/year (median $905K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 271 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 27.6% CAGR over 3 years with 263 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Better Together, LLC
Parent company
Dogtopia Enterprises, LLC
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
6245 North 24th Parkway, Suite 210, Phoenix, Arizona 85016
Auditor
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$20.9M
vs $21.5M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Dogtopia unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $932,116
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: automotive
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $543K–$1.4M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$60K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

15%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$149K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$1.0M
Payback
82 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Dogtopia units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.7M

on $8.4M purchase

Total debt

$6.7M

SBA $4.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Dogtopia franchisees operate pet daycare and boarding facilities providing supervised care, play, and socialization for dogs. Day-to-day operations involve managing staff schedules, overseeing animal care protocols, handling client intake and billing, maintaining facilities, and marketing to local pet owners. Revenue is generated through daycare packages, boarding fees, grooming services, and ancillary offerings.

CEO
Neil Gill
Founded
2005
FDD year
2025
States available
37

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$543K – $1.4M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $60K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$932K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$905K
Item 19 type
Actual Sales and Key Operating Metrics
Sample size
191 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$352K$2.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank45th
vs Personal Services - Pet Care peers
Investment cost rank85th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank43th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank95th
vs Personal Services - Pet Care peers
Risk score rank12th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
263
Opened
17
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
41
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
84%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+8.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+27.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
222+19
Franchised units
2024
205
Franchised units
2025
174
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 20 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 20 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
271
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

46
Risk · 0-100
STRONG46 / 100

Dogtopia presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: opaque unit economics, active litigation, and modest growth in a high-investment model warrant deep validation before committing $500K–$1.4M.

Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or unit economics
  2. 02HIGHActive litigation involving area developer (breach of contract) and former VP (incentive plan dispute) suggests operational and governance issues
  3. 03MINORModest unit growth of 8.3% YoY in a pet services category with strong consumer tailwinds indicates slower expansion than competitors
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($543K–$1.4M) with 7% royalties creates significant leverage risk without transparent profitability data
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern disclosure is FALSE but absence of Item 19 raises questions about financial transparency and whether system is underperforming

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius or density based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
101 hrs
On-the-job training
80 hrs

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

99 numbers

Locked
(480) 360-••••
AZ
(925) 587-••••
CA
(404) 885-••••
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Dogtopia · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above