Nearly 30 years after taking over a Bermuda branch of Invisible Fence Ltd, owners Rudi and Cathy Zimmerer are planning to disappear from the business.

“I want to retire, I’m of that age,” says Mrs Zimmerer. Mr Zimmerer added: “I’m not that far behind and, yes, I’d like to retire as well.”

The business, which is up for sale, was bought by the couple in 1995 from entrepreneur Glen Smith.

Mr Zimmerer recalled: “We had a dog, and we saw the system at the home we rented. We saw how it worked – and it worked well – and then we saw in The Royal Gazette that the business was for sale.”

Mrs Zimmerer, who worked at a pharmaceutical company, and watch and clockmaker Mr Zimmerer were keen to try something different.

He said: “We felt it was a good opportunity.”

The business is an authorised, full-service dealership of the original brand invented and set up by dog lover Richard Peck in the United States in 1973.

Over the past 28 years, the Bermuda branch has served “somewhere around 3,000” clients and their dogs or cats, Mr Zimmerer said.

He added: “The year of Covid, 2020-21, was by far the best year ever. We saw a surge in business.

“People weren’t travelling, they were working from home and they were bored and lonely and needed the companionship of a pet.”

Invisible fencing consists of an underground wire that “speaks” to a battery-operated receiver on an animal’s collar.

When the pet nears the property boundary, the receiver emits a beep.

Should it ignore the beep and get too close to the boundary, the receiver emits a mild “correction” to the pet, which is known in the trade as a “static stimulation”.

The business also offers outdoor and indoor variations on the technology that are designed to dissuade pets from accessing certain areas – flower beds, for example, or the couch.

Invisible Fencing also sells pet doors that use sensors to determine when a pet, and its collar, are near – as well as replacement batteries for the collars.

The business also offers training once a system is installed.

“Officially, it’s for the dog,” Mr Zimmerer said, with a smile. “Training the dog to the fence is an integral and important part of it.”

Mrs Zimmerer handles the administrative burden, plus book-keeping, while Mr Zimmerer takes care of sales calls and quotes, provides training and does repairs.

He said the company has an active customer base of more than 1,000.

Mrs Zimmerer said the couple would offer training for new owners of the business, which Mr Zimmerer estimated could take three to six months.

Also included in the sale are a van, equipment, and inventory.

Mr Zimmerer said: “We have a pretty clear understanding of what the value of the business is based on annual sales and profit.

“It’s a very stable business. With all the economic ups and downs over the last 28 years, it has been a reliable source of income. It’s pretty recession-proof.”