Subject: Detroit Free Press - May 4 - 2
From: "Merilee:::Kern Communications" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 09:55:43 -0700

http://search.freep.com/sp?eId=109&gcId=90301899&rNum=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freep.com%2Fapps%2Fpbcs.dll%2Farticle%3FAID%3D2008805040380&siteIdType=2

      May 4, 2008

      Canton company keeps Fido fit

      Pets get in-home exercise program

      BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
      FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER 

      Pilates for poodles and tae kwon do for collies? Personal fitness training is now a reality for pets.

      Duane Schiller, 48, owns Fetch Pet Care of Canton, which serves Canton, Northville, Plymouth and Westland. Schiller has been arriving at clients' homes with balls, ropes and his secret weapon -- "a ringy dingy: It's a rubber sphere that bounces in different directions when you throw it" -- since he opened his franchise in September 2006.

      Now, pet-sitting clients can add Go Fetch pet fitness service, a custom-tailored exercise program, in 15-minute increments for $4 to $5 per session.

      "People are stretched so thin, the animals can be neglected a little bit with their health and wellness," said Schiller of Westland, who opened the business with his wife, Laurie, 48, after years of caring for their own pets. "That's what we're trying to address with this program."

      Fetch Pet Care of Canton has about 130 clients and takes care of about 200 animals, Duane Schiller said. Clients typically pay an average of $18 for a half-hour pet visit at their home. During that time, either the Schillers or one of their two part-time contractors visit pets for potty time and a walk. If pet owners want more exercise for their dogs, they can add the dedicated personal training time.

      "A lot of the pets were overweight, and, unfortunately, some of them had passed away because of that," Paul Mann, the California founder and CEO of Fetch Pet Care, said of pets the company had visited. "That caused me to look at a half-hour dog walk" as "just not enough for some of these animals."

      Fetch consultants like Schiller, who had been a corporate travel specialist before opening his pet business, work with pet owners to determine the level of exercise each animal needs. "It's basically the same criteria as people: With exercise, you have more energy," Schiller said. "Your health improves. It helps your brain and temperament. ... You're just better all around."

      His most athletic clients are Ajax and Arnie, 2-year-old whippets from Westland. With their owner, the pair run in lure coursing -- chasing a white plastic bag pulled by a machine up to 40 m.p.h in a field course figure-eight pattern -- and do agility training.

      Owner Pat Sirwaitis puts in long days as a pediatric nurse at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn, and she says Schiller's exercise regimen saves her from having to deal with a host of bad-behavior issues.

      "They have separation anxiety," she said, "they'll refuse to eat, they'll sometimes have accidents in the house. He has been my lifesaver."

      Schiller said a Fetch franchise, which is run from the owner's home, costs about $20,000. Michigan's second Fetch Pet Care in West Bloomfield-Waterford is scheduled to open June 1.

      For more information on Fetch Pet Care, call 734-418-0795, e-mail [email-masked] or visit www.fetchpetcare.com.

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