For professionals considering a career change, pet care franchising is emerging as an option that can combine business ownership, flexibility and purpose, while allowing people to transfer skills built over years in other industries.
The need for a reset is clear. Careershifters’ State of Career Change Report 2026, based on a survey of 11,567 active UK career changers, found that 48% never or rarely feel fulfilled by their work. Poor work-life balance or wellbeing was cited as a motivation for change by 41%, while 40% pointed to a mismatch with their values or sense of purpose.
The report also found that 49% of career changers see identifying what they actually want to do next as their biggest obstacle, highlighting the challenge of turning dissatisfaction with an existing career into a practical second act.
For those considering franchising, that makes the choice of sector particularly important. Pet care can offer an alternative working environment while still providing the structure, training and commercial framework of a franchise business.
Kevin Thackrah, Director of Petpals, argues that career changers should focus less on what they are leaving behind and more on what they want their next working life to look like.
Start with the Destination
Leaving an unsatisfying job may be the catalyst for change, but it should not be the strategy.
Career changers need to establish what they actually want from their next role. That could mean greater control over working hours, less time behind a desk, stronger community connections, the satisfaction of building a business or the opportunity to manage a team.
Pet care can accommodate several of those ambitions. A franchisee can remain hands-on, building a manageable local client base and spending much of the working week delivering services. Alternatively, the business can be developed into a larger operation, with employees taking on more of the day-to-day pet care while the owner focuses on recruitment, customers, marketing and growth.
Petpals currently operates more than 150 locations across the UK and offers a range of services including dog walking, pet sitting, home boarding, cat care, puppy and elderly-dog visits and pet transportation. Its franchise model can be operated hands-on or as a management business.
Previous Experience can Travel
A second career does not mean starting from zero.
People changing industries often bring years of experience in communication, organisation, customer service, sales, leadership, problem-solving and managing people, skills that remain valuable even when the underlying industry changes.
Petpals has previously highlighted the diverse backgrounds of its franchisees, with experience ranging from banking and interior design to childcare, policing, the RAF and dental nursing. Only a small minority had previously worked with animals.
That is significant because formal pet-care experience is not a prerequisite for joining the franchise. Petpals says its training covers both animal-care skills and business management, allowing people from different professional backgrounds to make the transition.
For a career changer, the question therefore becomes less about whether they already know the pet-care industry and more about whether the franchise’s training and support can bridge the knowledge gaps.
Look Beyond the First Year
A second career also needs to make sense beyond the initial excitement of starting something new.
Someone may initially want to spend most of their time outdoors working directly with animals. Five or 10 years later, their ambitions may have changed. They may want to employ a team, increase the number of customers they serve or move towards a more strategic management role.
That makes scalability an important consideration when evaluating a franchise.
Petpals says franchisees can build a team and operate as management franchisees, while ongoing support includes business development reviews, recruitment assistance, marketing and social-media guidance, accounting support and access to its franchisee network.
The model therefore provides different potential routes for owners as their circumstances and ambitions evolve.
Flexibility Does not Mean Taking it Easy
The appeal of pet care can partly lie in the prospect of a different lifestyle, but prospective franchisees should not confuse flexibility with a lack of commercial responsibility.
Running a pet-care business still involves acquiring and retaining customers, managing finances, marketing locally, recruiting staff and maintaining service standards.
The attraction is that the owner has greater influence over how the business develops.
Petpals’ current franchise package is priced at £12,500 plus VAT and includes training, an exclusive territory, launch support and ongoing assistance. The company says franchisees can operate without property or stock costs, while its model supports both hands-on and management approaches.
Petpals has also maintained its franchise credentials, receiving five-star franchisee satisfaction recognition from WorkBuzz in 2025 and being named among the Elite Franchise Top 100 for 2026.
The brand marked its 25th year in 2026, bringing its franchise network together at its annual conference in January. Thackrah said the milestone reflected the “dedication, professionalism and genuine care” of its franchisees.
Turn a Career Change into a Progression
The strongest case for pet care as a second career may be that it does not require people to discard what they have already built.
Instead, a franchise can combine existing professional skills with new sector-specific training, a recognised brand and a structured business model.
That distinction matters at a time when career dissatisfaction is pushing more people to reconsider what they want from work. Careershifters found that nearly three-quarters of active career changers had been considering a move for at least a year, suggesting that for many, career change is a considered decision rather than a sudden impulse.
For professionals looking for a different pace, greater autonomy or a stronger connection between work and personal values, pet care may therefore offer more than an escape from an old career.
It can be a way to use the experience of a first career to build a business designed around the next stage of working life.
Petpals is currently offering franchise opportunities across the UK, with investment starting at £12,500 plus VAT.
