Chris & Alex Cowe, Barking Mad Perthshire and Clackmannanshire

We have named the Barking Mad 2013 Franchisee of the Year at our 10th annual national conference as Chris and Alex Cowe from Kinross

Managing Director Lee Dancy, who founded our company in 2000, said:

‘We were thrilled to present this award to Chris & Alex as outstanding assets to the company who really excelled this year. Passionate and committed to their business and the brand, it is obvious to anyone who meets them that they are devoted to their customers and genuinely care about every dog holiday they organise. They have continued to grow and improve their business since launch in 2006 as well as being involved our Advisory Group and other new Barking Mad initiatives setting a fine example to our national network’.

Alex is a former Human Resources Director of a major US global manufacturer and Chris was a stay-at-home Mum who decided to turn a love of dogs into a challenging and satisfying enterprise. Previously hosts for Barking Mad, Fife, they had gained meaningful insights into the company which led them to investigate the world of franchising.

“We knew that being passionate about dogs alone would not be enough, we had to be realistic, self-motivated, business-minded and determined to make this venture profitable.”

By the time Chris and Alex launched Barking Mad in the virgin territory of Perthshire and Clackmannanshire in September 2006 they had long since done their homework to ensure success. They enthusiastically describe Barking Mad as “Packed full of new things to learn, stimulating and rewarding, challenging and never-ever boring!” The couple describe one of the major advantages of being franchisees as the supportive network within Barking Mad.

They expanded their business which meant bringing additional staff on board as well as recruiting new host families to cope with the increasing number of customer enquiries. They recently hit another best ever turnover of £84,000 and continue to grow.

“Our continuing success and enjoyment are due in no small measure to our wonderful host families, our loyal customers (old and new) and to each and every dog for whom we have undiminishing passion”.

Chris and Alex continue to look after customers providing a unique and essential service for dog lovers in their area.