advocate impact pillar

focus

Support and drive regulatory and legislative change in the dog care industry and hold pet-focused businesses to higher levels of transparency, care and safety expectations through regulatory standards and guidelines.

** As a 501c3 organization, lobbying expenditures are capped at 20% of all expenditures from donations.

key outputs & activities

Contacting and meeting with city and state elected officials that can influence legislation.
Collecting stories from Austinites that have been impacted by lax boarding/training/daycare regulations or safety standards.
Supporting legislation focused on evolving the definition of companion pets (dog, cats) from “property” to reflect that the pet is a living being and considered a part of families.
Advocating for mandatory reporting for injuries and deaths at daycare, boarding or training facilities and the creation of a publicly accessible database for citizens to look up facilities.
Advocating for firm requirements to begin a boarding/ daycare/training facility, such as:
- Annual pet-safety inspections
- Safety gates
- Security cameras when dogs are on the grounds
- At least one vet tech on payroll and physically on site at facility
- Mandatory communication procedures for pet parents (sickness, behavioral, injury, death)
- Documentation of all injuries, sickness, behaviorist issues, deaths on premises

texas has a problem

Our friends at Pancho's Promise have been working since 2021 to create legislation that regulates and monitors business that profit by boarding, kenneling, walking or grooming dogs. Pancho's Promise is named in memory of their dog, Pancho, who died while under the care of a dog

daycare business in Dallas, Texas.

Below is a snapshot compiled by Pancho's Promise that shows the reality of the dog

industry in Texas:

Did you know that dog care businesses do not require any licensing, training, or monitoring from the state?

In Texas, there is little or no regulation or oversight for businesses such as:

Dog boarders
Dog walkers
Dog groomers
Dog trainers

This means that these businesses, the owners, and the employees are not required to be educated, trained, or licensed to do any of these jobs. The state does not have any oversight for these businesses.

In comparison, here’s a short list of other professions that require a license in Texas:

Auctioneers
Interior designers
High school sports coaches
Salvage vehicle dealers
Barbers, including manicurists, hair weavers, hair braiders
Cosmetology, for eyelash extensions and manicures
And many more (see them all at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation)

Did you know that if something happens to your dog while under the care of one of these businesses, there is no licensing agency that you can report them to?

If a dog care business injures or kills your dog, there is no state department or office that you can report them to. Your dog is dead, injured, or missing and the business keeps operating as if nothing happened. Sadly, we have heard of many stories where the same businesses kept harming or killing dogs but continued to operate for years, sometimes just changing the company name. With proper regulation, this wouldn’t be possible and these businesses wouldn’t be able to keep hurting dogs and dog families.

Did you know that a person can open a dog care business without any experience, training, or licensing requirements?

There is no way of verifying if the person caring for your dog has the skills to do so. In addition, you have no way to verify if they have been reported for violations or other issues. Anyone can simply wake up one morning and decide to start a dog care business.

Find out more and learn about the incredible work they are doing, here: https://panchospromise.com/