At No. 111, Aussie Pet Mobile (Dana Point, Calif.) was the highest-ranked pet-related business on the list. The company, which offers mobile pet grooming services, has appeared on the list five years in a row.

Bark Busters (Greenwood Village, Colo.), which offers in-home dog training, was No. 115, leaping up the list from last year’s No. 278 ranking. It has made the list four consecutive years.

Wild Birds Unlimited (Carmel, Ind.), which retails bird-feeding supplies and nature-oriented gift items, was No. 179, moving up from last year’s No. 210 ranking.

Pet Supplies “Plus” (Farmington Hills, Mich.), at No. 199, was the highest-ranked pet store franchise on the list. The ranking reflects a significant improvement over last year, when the company was No. 295. It has made the list three consecutive years.

Petland Inc. (Chillicothe, Ohio) was No. 243 on the list, compared with No. 248 on last year’s list. The full-service pet retailer has made the list four of the last five years.

In 2005, Franchise 500 companies brought in a combined total of $134.2 billion in sales. In addition, the number of franchise units increased 11 percent between 2004 and 2005—nearly three times the growth rate between 2003 and 2004.

Entrepreneur’s rankings are based on factors such as financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the franchise system, number of years in business, length of time franchising, startup costs, litigation, percentage of terminations, and whether the company provides financing.

For details, visit www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500. [March 2006 PET AGE]