Salty Dawg Pet Salon
Formerly known as Purely Pet
Bottom line
- Total investment $195K – $470K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $591K/year.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 73/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
- 10 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Salty Dawg Pet Salon unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
34%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Salty Dawg Pet Salon units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.5M
on $7.7M purchase
Total debt
$6.1M
SBA $3.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Salty Dawg Pet Salon franchisees operate grooming facilities providing bathing, haircuts, nail trimming, and other aesthetic services for dogs and cats. Day-to-day operations involve managing grooming staff, scheduling client appointments, maintaining facility cleanliness and safety standards, handling customer service, and managing inventory of grooming supplies and products.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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).
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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
A severely underdeveloped franchise system with only 2 units, significant litigation involving the CEO around fraud allegations, zero financial transparency, and no verifiable earnings data—extreme caution warranted.
Score breakdown · what drove the 73 / 100 rating
- 01MEDExtremely limited unit count (2 units) suggests minimal franchisee demand and system viability concerns
- 02HIGHCEO/Chairman John T. Hewitt involved in 10 legal actions including fraud and securities violations—indicates governance and ethical red flags at corporate level
- 03MEDNo disclosed net income data prevents ROI validation; combined with high investment ($194K-$470K) and 8% royalties, profitability is opaque
- 04MEDMissing Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) is a major due diligence gap—cannot verify if $590K avg revenue translates to acceptable returns
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, but system growth is stalled with only 2 units and unknown growth trajectory
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
20 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Salty Dawg Pet Salon · FDD (2025) PDF