Kennel Connection will refer owners weighing a sale to Cantara Pet Advisors

Kennel Connection, whose software runs more than 5,500 U.S. pet care locations, said on October 13th, 2026 that it will refer owners weighing a sale to Cantara Pet Advisors, with no referral fee changing hands. The release frames the problem this way. Buyers do this for a living, and most owners will sell once. In our view, the more interesting part is who is making the introduction.

A referral with no fee and two price tags

Kennel Connection, a 100GROUP company, will introduce Cantara "as a recommended resource to clients who are considering a sale, whether that sale is imminent or several years away." The release says "No referral fees, commissions, or residuals change hands between the two companies."

Cantara sells two services. Sale Readiness Consulting is a fixed-fee project for owners who want to raise valuation before listing, and Business Sale Advisory is a success-fee engagement that runs a sale process through close. Its site prices consulting from $10,000 for one workstream. Advisory runs on a success fee set by a progressive percentage of sale value, plus a one-time US$15,000 activation fee charged when marketing to buyers begins, though the homepage says "No close, no fee." The firm describes its fit as owners with $1M+ revenue and $250K+ EBITDA or a clear path to it.

The Vancouver-based firm is led by Craig Pollack, who the release says co-founded the private equity backed aggregator Village Pet Care and has advised multiple buy-side private equity groups.

The software vendor holds records buyers ask for early

The release also makes a case for the software itself. Revenue history, occupancy trends, service mix and client retention are among the first things a buyer requests, and a facility on a modern booking system can produce them without rebuilding years of records. In the release's words, "Clean operational data is not simply an efficiency gain. It is a valuation input."

By our read, that puts Kennel Connection's records inside the diligence file. Its parent, 100GROUP, sells payment processing alongside software, and the release lists integrated card processing among Kennel Connection's features. The release says Kennel Connection is recommending Cantara "because of fit and industry expertise, not compensation." If we had to guess, a vendor taking no fee gains goodwill with owners at the stage when a facility's next operator can pick its own software and processor.

The release says private equity and family office capital "remain active in the pet care space." Village Pet Care launched in January 2023 with 17 centers in six states and General Atlantic money. Its own site now claims 40+ locations nationwide and a 75-day average time to close, beside a "Sell Your Business" link.

Services made up three of the 18 pet deals counted in Capstone's March sector update. Franchise capital is building the same kind of facility, with Skiptown's five-unit Austin deal taking its announced pipeline to at least 12 units, none open.

Owners should ask about both sides of the table

Cantara markets to both sides in the open. Its buyers page says the firm "was built for both sellers and buyers" and invites acquirers to join its network for priority access to new opportunities, which is how a sell-side process finds bidders.

Neither the release nor Cantara's site says whether Pollack still advises buy-side groups, or how the firm would handle a bid from one he has advised. The site says its team has "operated, acquired, and advised on transactions involving 100+ pet resorts," but it lists no deals Cantara itself has closed and no client count. Those are fair questions for an owner's first call.

Pollack has two public dates next month. He presents on November 6th at the Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo East in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which runs November 3rd to 6th, then joins Kennel Connection's webinar series on November 11th at 8 p.m. ET.

The referral is free. Cantara's engagements are not.

Photo: Canine To Five via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Source: Kennel Connection via Business Wire