We ARE the pet people....

After ten years running fundraising campaigns for charities, Victoria decided to travel the World for a year. Having befriended stray dogs and cats in every place she visited, she returned to London and has been working as a pet carer and voiceover artist ever since. However, she’s also ferociously efficient, so we’ve dragged her into the office to put those skills to good use. She still does house sitting and some cat visits too, and your pets and your home could not be in safer hands.

Having been without a dog for a couple of years, after the wonderful Liam, the not very good ex guide dog golden retriever, passed away, Ewan felt it was time to have a bit more dog in his life.  Ewan and his lovely wife April adore having a happy hound to stay with them and the dogs adore it in return.  As as writers and directors, it fits in with their lives beautifully. Any dog staying there will have a fabulous time.  

She acts, she writes and she LOVES animals. Lynn hails from Scotland and after coming down to London for University she now has the best of both worlds, creating her own theatre pieces and spending time with animals, including her own dog Jack-Jack, who adores having dogs to stay. He's chuffed to bits to have new playmates. As are Lynn and her partner Aaron. 

Vienna has been looking after pets professionally for nearly 7 years. After working in secondary schools she fancied a change in who she spent all day with! A true animal lover and believer in good vibes for uneasy animals, joining Happy Hounds was a no-brainer. She is also a singer/songwriter and loves coming home to write after a day of laughs with her animal friends.

Sue doesn't do things by halves.  So she got a dog.  A rescue called Charlie. Sue felt Charlie needed some dog training and so went and saw Caesar Milan. And then realising she rather liked dogs more than she liked working in big business, she joined Happy Hounds, first as a walker which she loved.  But then moved. To Norfolk. But we liked her so much we asked if, using the magic of the interweb, she'd carry on working with us and she's helping run day to day business, on and off ever since.  We refuse to let her go and you may hear her occasionally quote Al Pacino in the Godfather: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"

Happy Hounds has been a fixture in my life for almost six years. I was inspired to become a part of the team because of my very own hound who enjoys engaging with the local hounds and houndettes on his walks. In fact he's become a bit of a local celeb, his bark is well-known around the neighbourhood!

So as a dog enthusiast with lots of compassion, there's nothing better than spending time with them and they love the routine I create for them which includes lovely walks, play and lots of cuddles whether they're here for boarding or doggy daycare.

Kim grew up surrounded by cats, dogs, ducks, horses, chickens, rabbits and lots of pet rodents – no wonder her childhood hero was Steve Irwin!  She’s worked in hospitality, sales and retail, so providing quality customer service is high on her list of skills. After moving to London into a shared ‘no pets allowed’ house, she really missed having animals in her life but luckily found us when she searched for a dog walking job. Before joining HH&CC she was putting her acting skills (she is a drama school graduate) to work in schools, teaching 14-17 year olds about driving safety through drama, so she’s clearly never heard the old adage “never work with children or animals”. 

Johnny B (as we prefer to call him), is a passionate dog lover, having had dogs in his life since the day he was born. He helped out at his Auntie’s pet sitting business every chance he had and built up an in-depth knowledge of dogs and cats and all their little quirks.  His other previous roles included working in bars & restaurants and he's currently studying music production. In his outside life he is a musician & songwriter and his band has even played at Glastonbury! The dogs LOVE him and his very gentle temperament.  And he loves them too. 

Sam has a degree in Forensic Science, and this inspired her earlier career choice of Detective Constable with the Met. Feeling she needed a change, she decided to do some work experience with Goddard's Veterinary Clinic and later in a Veterinary Clinic and Equine Hospital, where she was an Auxiliary Nurse - so she’s very used to calming down animals in the most stressful of situations.  Her love of animals comes from childhood, having grown up with dogs and being given responsibility for her own dog since she was a puppy. Knowing she’s an excellent trainer, many of her friends have asked her to dog-sit their dogs and she has often found herself having to take care of up to 4 large dogs at a time. We try not to ask her to put her forensic skills to use too often, but we have been known to ask her to examine the odd strange dog poop and give us an expert opinion!

Customer-facing roles in all sorts of environments, department stores, clients’ homes, clinical practices you name it, were the mainstay of Grace’s working life…until she brought her very own Chow Chow. She’d grown up with family dogs and other pets, and had often helped out at her friend’s dog-sitting service in her spare time, but it was the arrival of her very own fluff-ball that convinced her the time was right to work with dogs full time. She enjoys a challenging situation and came across many in her customer services days, so she’s very well equipped to deal with all the ups and downs of the dog-walking day. She loves being out in the open air and finds walking all day very therapeutic, whatever the weather! She’s an absolute delight as a colleague and we’re very lucky to have her.

Maeve is the youngest member of our team, at 18 years old but don't be fooled by her youth! She has had animals all her life, from guinea pigs to chickens to snakes, although she currently has 3 cats and 2 dogs and her experience shows with all the happy hounds & cooler cats. Your pets are in excellent hands with her. 

Neil - Tommo to his friends - is bloomin’ fantastic with animals. A long time dog owner himself, always a rescue from Battersea, he’s a big fan of site hounds. So give him a whippet or a lurcher or something pointy and quick and he’s in heaven! Neil looks after our dog's who need a little more care and attention, on Solo walks and Puppy Sits- he's attentive and has the patience of a saint! He’s also a professional photographer, with bands and gigs his speciality.  We do have a lovely creative bunch.

Richard joined the team after taking early retirement (but he looks so young!) from a long career in banking client services.  He was looking for a complete change of direction away from the office, but was keen to retain a client focused role.  As a lifelong animal lover he feels that he has found the perfect answer: thoroughly enjoying his new career out in the fresh air looking after our lovely furry clients every day!

Nicola is another we won't let go. She's been travelling for the last year after working with us for two, and we're delighted we've managed to lure her back to Happy Hounds.  After graduation she moved to London and was ecstatic to find a job working with animals.  Growing up with dogs her whole life, she understands the love and importance of dogs as part of the family. Quickly becoming a key member of the team, she studied dog training as well as managing daycare and it's great to have her back with the us so she can develop along with us.

Since joining the amazing Happy Hounds team, things have changed - being a freelancer script supervisor in television and combining a love of music, I’m now also able to indulge another passion - a massive love of animals. Yes ... Life has changed, my shopping habits are now unrecognisable as I search the net for scented biodegradable poo bags and scan the aisles for special deals on favoured dog treats, I also find myself rescuing snails from exuberant puppies, and now have a full appreciation of the diverse world of the dog harness. But the best change of all is spending time with all the wonderful dogs and cats residing in the area, who luckily for me, have chosen Happy Hounds to look after them.

Who wouldn't want to spend their day covered in dribble!? Working with Happy Hounds has been the best decision I've ever made. I finally traded in sitting in an office for getting lost in the forest! I love the freedom and flexibility and my dogs are amazing (when they behave) I cant resist a big pooch, although I'm sure my bruises would say otherwise...

Joe came to us after many years in an office-based role and was ready for a change of scenery – he’s been around dogs all his life and so the appeal of working with them and spending time outdoors was just what he wanted.  He hasn’t looked back – absolutely loves walking groups and solos alike and often has so much fun that he often returns as muddy as the dogs.  He also has a background in physical theatre and is uncannily good at doing impressions of the dogs.

Brhea studied animal welfare at school and loved her work experience as a Veterinary Nurse Assistant. After this she knew she wanted to work with animals, so after a stint in a restaurant in Epping, she spent a year as an Animal Care Assistant in a pet shop, before joining the HH&CC’s team in March 2019.

Retail was Christine’s thing for many years, but her lifelong (she’s owned dogs her whole life and when she was younger worked in a stables) love of animals eventually got the better of her, and she decided to put her brief spell as an assistant in a veterinary clinic to good use by taking on some dog boarding and dog walking. Having dipped her toe in the water and finding she loved it, she joined the Happy Hounds & Cooler Cats team to add Doggy Daycare to her repertoire and her own pooch loves having new buddies over each day, so everyone’s happy!

Katie is an artist and has worked in lots of different roles in the art world, but the nicest role is working with all the pooches at Happy Hounds & Cooler Cats. She’s grown up with dogs, cats and horses, so has huge experience of dealing with all sort of breeds, shapes and sizes. She currently shares a horse and still goes riding every weekend if she can – this also means having to muck out the stables, so she’s not worried about getting her hands dirty. The dogs love her gentle nature and she’s brilliant at coaxing out even the most timid of puppies. 

Having worked for a large financial organisation for over 30 years and the later years in London Jayne decided that she wanted a different pace in life and having had a passion for animals since a young age this is the field she turned to. Jayne loves the company of the dogs she walks and cats she feeds and this job also fulfills her love of the countryside. Jayne covers enjoys having dogs to board when they live as part of the family and enjoy lots of attention, love and cuddles!

Having lived in Sevenoaks all her life, originally working in property then as a legal PA. Whilst her children were young, she worked in the family courier business and cared for people's horses part time. Once they started secondary school, she decided to look for a different career path. With a total love of the outdoors and being brought up with dogs and horses, presently owning two horses and two dogs of her own, working with animals was always something she had wanted to do.

After working in care with the terminally ill for five years, Kelly felt it was time for a change. Brought up with a number of dogs and smaller pets, she decided it was working with animals that was best for her. She has been with Happy Hounds since 2011 and loves being outdoors with the dogs and finding new walks to explore.