Sunshine Pet Care

What Sunshine Pet Care does

Sunshine Pet Care is a privately held, founder-owned pet care service business operating in the northwest Chicago suburbs of Illinois. Founded in 2014 by Christopher Dill, who transitioned from a decade of social services work and a part-time caregiver role at PAWS Chicago, the company delivers in-home pet sitting, dog walking, overnight pet care, cat sitting, puppy potty breaks, and house-sitting services to households across Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, Palatine, Mount Prospect, Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, and Buffalo Grove.

The service offering is delivered entirely through in-person visits by employed pet sitters and dog walkers, with no proprietary technology platform, app, or API in place. Customer acquisition runs through phone, an online contact form, Yelp reviews (#1 Pet Sitter ranking across four suburbs as of August 2022), Facebook and X (Twitter) presence, and a referral program that awards three free visits per successful referral. Initial engagement begins with a home-based "Meet and Greet" intake that captures pet routines, medication requirements, and home procedures, after which the same primary sitter is assigned for continuity.

Revenue is generated on a pay-as-you-go basis per service occurrence — $20–$22 per dog walk depending on volume, $90/night for in-home overnight sitting (14 hours, 6pm–6am), $22 per cat visit, and ancillary fees for additional pets, extended time, and holiday premium days — with no long-term contracts. The business donates a portion of profits to local rescues including PAWS Chicago. The company is bootstrapped, has 1–10 employees, and has no institutional investors, acquisitions, or technology investments disclosed.

Name

Sunshine Pet Care

Legal name

Sunshine Pet Care

Website

https://sunshinepetcare.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sunshine Pet Care is a privately held, founder-owned in-home pet care service business in the northwest Chicago suburbs, offering dog walking, pet sitting, overnight care, cat visits, and house sitting to households across seven Illinois suburbs. The company operates with 1–10 employees on a pay-as-you-go basis with no proprietary technology platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Care Services

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHSANAEAE

Medication Administration & Health Monitoring (Non-Veterinary)

Home & Personal Services/Pet Grooming & Boarding Services/In-Home Pet Sitting

SECONDARYHSANAEAD

Dog Walking Add-On (Scheduled Walks During Sits)

Home & Personal Services/Pet Grooming & Boarding Services/In-Home Pet Sitting

SECONDARYHSANAEAI

House Sitting + Pet Care Bundles (Mail, Plants, Security Checks)

Home & Personal Services/Pet Grooming & Boarding Services/In-Home Pet Sitting

Keywords

• Pet care services
• Dog walking
• Pet sitting
• In-home pet care
• Overnight pet sitting

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington Heights

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Dog Walking Services: Recurring or one-time dog walking services priced per walk. Volume discounts available for 4-5 walks per week vs 1-3 walks per week. Additional fees for extra dogs, puppy potty breaks, extended duration, and holiday walks.
2. Pet Sitting Services: Overnight pet sitting at client's home at $90/night. Additional fees for extra pets (dogs $25/night, cats $15/night). Holiday premium applies.
3. Cat Sitting Services: Cat sitting visits at $22/visit with holiday premium.
4. House Sitting Services: House sitting services for non-pet owners covering nightly stays from 7pm-6am, mail/package collection, and plant watering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sunshine Pet Care is a pet care service business providing in-home dog walking, pet sitting, overnight pet care, and cat sitting for pet owners in the Chicago suburbs. Services are delivered at the client's residence by employed pet sitters and dog walkers who maintain each pet's individual routine, with included medication administration, daily text/photo updates, and home-care extras like mail collection and plant watering. The company also donates a portion of profits from every service to local animal rescues and shelters.

Product overview

Sunshine Pet Care is a traditional pet care service provider offering in-home pet sitting and dog walking services. The company operates a single unified service offering called "Two Paws Up" Pet Care, which provides Dog Walking, Pet Sitting & Overnights, Cat Sitting, House Sitting Services, and Puppy Potty Breaks. All services are delivered by experienced pet sitters who visit clients' homes to maintain pets' routines and reduce stress during owner absences. The company serves the Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, Palatine, Mount Prospect, Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, and Buffalo Grove areas in Illinois.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dog Walking Professional dog walking service providing mid-day walks (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) with social interaction, exercise, mental stimulation, and potty breaks. Walkers encourage good behaviors with positive reinforcement. Priced at $21/walk for 1–3 walks per week, $20/walk for 4–5 walks per week, and $22 for one-off walks, with surcharges for additional dogs, puppy potty breaks, extended duration, and holiday walks.
• Pet Sitting & Overnights In-home pet sitting services including overnight care (6 p.m. to 6 a.m., 14 hours/night), daily updates with photos, feeding, medication administration, walks, and cuddling to maintain pet routines while owners are away. Priced at $90/night with surcharges for additional dogs (+$25/night), additional cats (+$15/night), and holidays (+$20/night).
• Cat Sitting In-home cat care visits providing feeding, water changes, litter box cleaning, playtime, brushing, and medication handling while owners are away. Priced at $22 per visit (averaging 25 minutes) with surcharges for additional cats (+$3) and holidays (+$5/visit).
• House Sitting Services Overnight home monitoring service (7 p.m. to 6 a.m.) for clients without pets, including mail/package collection, plant watering, and home security maintenance such as alternating blinds and lights.
• Puppy Potty Breaks Short 10-minute potty breaks for puppies under 6 months old, providing needed relief during house training. Priced at $15 per visit with $5 surcharges per each additional 15 minutes.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PAWS ChicagominorOthersPAWS Chicago is described as the 'biggest and best no-kill shelter in the area.' Founder Christopher Dill works part-time as a caregiver at PAWS Chicago and the company donates a portion of profits from every dog walk, pet sitting visit, and overnight to local rescues and shelters including PAWS Chicago.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TrustedHousesitters: Subscription-based platform for house sitting and pet sitting, often involving overnight in-home stays. Highly comparable service mix (overnight pet care in client's home plus home security) and similar recurring/extended-trip use cases.
• Rover: Largest online marketplace connecting pet owners with in-home pet sitters and dog walkers. Directly comparable to Sunshine Pet Care on service offering (dog walking, pet sitting, overnight care) and target customer, though it operates a marketplace/aggregator model rather than direct employment.
• Wag!: On-demand dog walking and pet care platform operating in major U.S. metros including Chicago. Directly competes on dog walking and pet sitting services with similar customer base, though delivered through an app-based marketplace.
• Pawshake: Global peer-to-peer marketplace for pet sitting, dog walking, and boarding. Comparable service offering and customer demographic with Sunshine Pet Care, though operates as a marketplace aggregator across multiple geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Central Bark: Franchise network offering dog daycare, boarding, and spa services with locations across the U.S. including the Chicago area. Comparable pet care category and suburban customer profile, though uses facility-based rather than in-home delivery.
• Petco Pet Care: Pet care services (boarding, grooming, training) offered through Petco's national retail footprint. Overlapping customer base with Sunshine Pet Care, though delivered through a different retail-anchored model.
• Camp Bow Wow: National franchise operating dog daycare and overnight boarding facilities. Comparable pet care category and target customer, but uses facility-based delivery rather than in-home service; represents a different competitive substitute rather than head-to-head competition.
• PetSmart PetsHotel: Pet care and boarding offering from PetSmart, the largest North American specialty pet retailer. Competes for the same 'alternative to leaving pet at home' use case, but uses facility-based boarding and daycare at retail locations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sunshinepetcare
• Facebookfacebook.com/sunshinepetcare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunshine-pet-care

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunshine Pet Care