Wood Buffalo pet service providers have started to come together in order to provide better services and for these businesses to be more effective. The Pet Care Network was the brain child of Ann Kidston, owner of Ann’s Pet Services, and Jane Hetfleis, who owns the Pet Steps Dog Training. Both owners got together and started the Pet Care Network in order to provide a collaborative and consistent approach to pet care. Both of the women behind the Pet Care Network started their businesses because of their love for animals, and their desire to see animals well cared for.

When discussing the support network for pet service providers in Wood Buffalo Jane Hetfleis said “We’ve pretty much proven we can do whatever we want … and it’s really nice we have the ability to do now what we want. A lot of folks think anybody can walk a dog, but in this day and age, we see a lot of animals with behavioural issues, and depending on how you approach the animal, you can make them better or make them worse, so it’s important the handlers understand animal body language and safe ways to approach the animal.” Ann Kidston explained “You’ve got to be accountable to yourself — win, lose or fail,. Having a stable partnership with someone … we can support each other, we have the same work ethics, we have the same commitment to our clients and pets.” Hetfleis also commented “There’s a lot of pet sitters in town, a lot of sole proprietors, and that can be difficult, being a one person show, so having the ability to provide the community with continuity of service, we thought, would be a huge advantage.”