2017 has been our busiest year yet!

There have been some very exciting developments throughout the company. We have welcomed two new managers, Lucy, who took over our fantastic Bristol team and Tamsin, who now runs our new Vale of Glamorgan team. We also welcomed Tash, our qualified Canine First Aid Instructor, who runs educational evenings for owners as well as ensuring our staff and third party pet professionals are up together with their Pet First Aid skills. We are continuing to improve our services throughout all our teams and have some exciting developments planned for 2018! Please keep an eye on our social media pages for all our updates in the new year. We always welcome any feedback so please feel free to get in touch with your local manager or myself on [email protected] as we are always looking for things we can improve on. Rather than sending out ‘card’ Christmas cards this year we have chosen to donate to a charity very close to our hearts to gain awareness for Sepsis, in memory of our Cardiff colleague Rachel Day who tragically died earlier this year. Here is a little e card instead here

Thank you for your continued support with Friends for Pets and we hope you have a restful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Best Wishes

Becca and the Friends for Pets Team x

Introducing our new managers

Bristol – Lucy took over the Bristol team in the summer of 2017. Here are a few words from Lucy:- “I am really excited to have taken over the running of the Bristol area of Friends for Pets! I have known for a long time that I would love to work in pet care and when this opportunity came up, it seemed too good to be true. I live on the outskirts of Bristol with my two mini Dachshounds. I love animals of all shapes and sizes and enjoy nothing more than being out in the countryside with my two, especially at this time of the year when it’s cold and crisp. We have a fantastic team of pet carers covering the whole of the Bristol area and offering an array of pet care services. We always endeavour to tailor our services to our clients and their animals and all of us in the Bristol team are passionate about what we do. Due to the demand for the high quality of our pet services we are looking to expand the Bristol team further adding a couple more pet carers to our amazing team.” For more information on our services or about work opportunities in the area please get in touch with Lucy on [email protected] or 07585 504867.

Penarth and the Vale of Glamorgan – Tamsin took over as manager of the Vale of Glamorgan team in 2017 after working for a short time as a pet carer in the area. Here are a few words from Tamsin:- “I live in Penarth with my husband, three children, Fred the rescue Labrador cross, our chickens and guinea pigs to keep me busy! With a lifetime experience of a wide variety of pets, I gave up a career in the financial services to take care of pets. I love all different breeds and species and have a great team of pet carers in the Vale of Glamorgan to offer a tailored service for your pets”. For more information on how the Vale of Glamorgan team can help your pet please contact Tamsin on [email protected] or 07500 876397.

Awards! Awards! Awards!

We have been very fortunate this year to have been finalists for some very prestigious awards! We are so grateful to our amazing teams who make us stand out amongst the crowds in these categories. Our staff put their hearts and souls into their jobs and these awards represent them and the work that they do for our company.
Working Mums Awards – Best Family Friendly Franchise
Sedgemoor Business Awards – Customer Service Excellence
Somerset Business Awards – Young Business Employee of the Year (our lovely Cheddar and Wells manager, Amy)
PetQuip Awards – Business of the Year
Best Business Women Awards – Best Customer Service
Pet Industry Federation – Pet Service Business of the Year

Pet First Aid!

At the start of 2017, Tash joined the team as our in-house Canine First Aid Instructor. Throughout the year we have been holding ‘Owner Evenings’ to pass on the basic first aid skills and knowledge to pet owners. These evenings have worked brilliantly for us to give owners basic first aid skills that they can use in emergency situations with their pets as well as giving us the opportunity to raise funds for local chosen charities. Needless to say, we will be holding more owner’s evenings in the New Year. Tash has also been teaching the certified Canine First Responder course for dog owners and professionals that want to learn more detailed skills and gain a qualification in Pet First Aid. For dates on both the Canine First Responder Certificate course and pet owner evenings please get in touch with Tash on [email protected]

Rachel’s Day

As some of you are aware, in June we lost our beautiful Rachel Day a member of our Cardiff team. Rachel lost her life at the age of 29 years old to the cruel disease, Sepsis. Like most people, we had not heard much about this disease so decided to raise funds to help gain more awareness about the disease in Rachel’s memory.

Cardiff Manager, Catherine and pet carer, Sally got their heads together and created ‘Rachel’s Day’ a charity dog walk and family fun day. With lots of help and support the event held on the 19th August exceeded their expectations with over 100 dogs attending and £5000 raised! It was so popular the event is now going to be held annually with the next on the 14th July 2018. Please keep your eyes opened for details nearer the time to become involved.

On the 15th December Rachel’s Christmas Ball will be held at St Mellons hotel in Cardiff. Tickets are £35 and it is promised to be a fun filled evening with live music, food, wine, auction, raffle and much more. The girls are working hard to ensure this! If you feel you can help in anyway or wish to donate or buy a ticket please contact Catherine at [email protected] In the meantime #justask #sepsis

Christmas Office Hours

We will be shutting our ‘offices’ from 5pm on 22nd Dec until 9am on 2nd Jan for a little Christmas break. We are continuing to provide pet care to clients over the entire Christmas period to those clients that have requested it. If you do need any pet care and haven’t booked in yet please let your local manager know as soon as possible please.

Charities

We have raised funds for a few charities this year through donations and by organising Pet Owner First Aid Evenings. Support of these charities could not have happened without our wonderful clients supporting us so thank you on behalf of all the charities! Charities that we have raised for include:-
Dogs Friends http://dogsfriends.me.uk/
Mutts with Friends http://www.muttswithfriends.org/
Happy Landings http://www.happy-landings.org.uk/
Hope rescue http://www.hoperescue.org.uk/
Dog AID (Assistance in Disability) http://dogaid.org.uk/
Great Western Air Ambulance http://www.greatwesternairambulance.com/
For upcoming Pet Owners Charity First Aid Events please have a look at our Dates for your Diary section below or keep an eye on our social media pages for further updates on upcoming events.

Recruitment

We are looking to recruit pet carers in all our teams to help us with all pet care services. As a member of our team you will be offered the opportunity to take part in our Pet Sitter Training Scheme including dog behaviour, nutrition, health, welfare, Pet First Aid and much much more! We offer competitive rates and the support of a team behind you in times of illness and holidays. For more information please contact your local manager or you can apply online at https://www.friendsforpets.co.uk/dog-walking-jobs/

Dates for your Diary

11th January – Pet Owners First Aid Evening – Just for Pets, Bristol
16th January – Pet Owners First Aid Evening – Cheddar Catholic Church Hall
27th January – Canine First Responder Course, Bristol
20th February – Canine First Responder Course, Shipham
8th March – Pet Owners First Aid Evening – Croscombe Village Hall
14th July – Rachel’s Day Charity Dog Walk and family fun day, Cardiff
21st July – Our 10th Birthday!
Find us on Social Media at:

We have lots of extra info, pictures of our clients and lots of news through out social media pages. If you would like to follow us our details are:-
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/FriendsforPets
LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/company/friends-for-pets
Tweet us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/FriendsforPets
Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/friendsforpetsltd

Team Contact Details

Bath – Alison 07474 066361 or [email protected]
Barry – Tasmin 07500 876397 or [email protected]
Bradford–on–Avon – Julia 07766 968397 or [email protected]
Bristol – Lucy 07585 504867 or [email protected]
Cardiff – Catherine 07502 316670 or [email protected]
Cheddar, Chew Valley & Wells – Amy 07584 050544 or [email protected]
Frome – Julia 07766 968397 or [email protected]
Hertfordshire – Amanda 07825 777176 or [email protected]
Canine first aid – Tash – [email protected]
Franchise Enquiries – [email protected]
Everything Else! – [email protected]

All the Best from

Friends for Pets