Petland rose 29 spots to rank 442 overall in Entrepreneur Magazine's 36th annual Franchise 500. According to Entrepreneur.com, there are more than 3,000 active franchisors in North America.

"It is an honor to once again be recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 500 franchise concepts in the United States," said Petland President and CEO Joe Watson. "This recognition is a testament to the relevance of the Petland brand and our proprietary operating model."

In conducting its annual rating of franchises in the world, Entrepreneur considers numerous factors, including financial strength, stability, growth rate and size of the franchise system. Other rating factors include number of years in business, length of time franchising, start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing. An independent CPA firm audits financial data. Every company with verifiable data receives a cumulative score. The franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500.