Hello there 👋 thanks for stopping by to read more about Project Paws.

I'm Ella and I'm looking for someone to help me fix the broken process of buying a puppy.

Tl;dr: Key Numbers

• 23% of UK households own a dog, representing approx. 9 million dogs in the UK
• The annual market for puppies in the UK is unknown, but it is estimated that sales could range from 700,000 to 1.9 million. According to the House of Commons this market is worth between £100 million and £300 million (source).
• According to the House of Commons, this would correspond to approx. £142 to £157 per puppy (which is a very conservative number, considering most breeds today are sold closer to £2,000/puppy).
• Based on these numbers, the market share for the London and South East England areas (19% of UK market) would range between £11,898,180 to £35,706,510 / year (V1 of the project).

1️⃣ Why is the process of getting a puppy, broken?

Puppy and animal cruelty

Today in the UK, 1 in every 4 puppies purchased in the UK come from a puppy farm. Puppy farms don't care about the welfare of their animals - they breed from their dogs too often, let them live in terrible conditions, don't socialise the dogs and puppies, don't vaccinate or worm them either.

The consequences of buying a puppy from a farm are numerous: poor health, illnesses, aggressive or anti-social behaviours, expensive vet bills - just to name a few. Even worse, up to 30% of puppies die in their first year of life, most of which were bred by puppy farmers.

Finding a great breeder is convoluted and opaque

The process of finding a responsible breeder looks like this: you research on the Kennel Club website all Assured Breeders for the breed you want, get in touch with each of them and check if they're expecting a litter - often leading to being put on a waitlist. An alternative is to reach out to a Breed Club which will give you a list of breeders currently expecting a litter, which brings you back to calling a bunch of people. The last but riskiest option is to find a breeder on Pets4Homes, an online marketplace where anyone can list puppies for sale where no preliminary vetting process is needed on the breeder's side.

2️⃣ The Solution