Pets are now part of over 90 million U.S. households, and more people than ever want to bring pets with them as they go out to shop and eat.
Pets are good for business, too. People with pets are more likely to visit pet-friendly businesses, and to stay longer during their visit. Plus, having pets around often drives social media buzz, providing both tangible and intangible PR benefits for the business.
This toolkit provides how-to’s and best practices to help you plan pet-friendly policies, amenities and programming for your business.
Plus, you can join other local businesses to implement a Pets Welcome program — a coordinated, community wide pet-friendly business initiative that can benefit businesses, pet parents and pets. This includes having consistent signage, guidelines for participants, education for businesses and pet-friendly amenities.
Enjoy the many benefits that being pet friendly brings for your customers and your business!
Key steps for launching a Pets Welcome community program
- Understand local ordinances and requirements for pets in businesses.
- Make sure your community has pet-friendly amenities like pet relief areas and hydration stations.
- Work with local government as needed to evolve rules and add amenities.
- Engage community thought leaders to help promote the concept.
- Get businesses interested in participating.
- Develop a shared code of conduct for pet visitors.
- Create signage and educational materials for all participants to use.
- Launch the program.
- Track results to keep learning and developing.
Tools to help you get started
- Benefits of Making Pets Welcome
- Ways to Welcome Pets and Pet Parents
- Pet Behavior 101 for Businesses
- Pet Safety Considerations for Businesses
- Handling Customer Concerns about Pets
- Making Pets Welcome with Pet Amenities
- Best Practices for Pet Relief Areas
- Emergency Planning for Pets at Your Business
- How to Advocate for “Pets on Patios” Legislation
- How to Tell Customers You Welcome Pets
- Ways to Celebrate Pets Who Visit Your Business
- Ways to Be Pet-Friendly When You Can’t Have Pets Inside
- Sample Pet Code of Conduct
- Sample Pet Guidelines Signage