Barking Mad - and proud of it!

REBECCA Hamer, along with her sister-in-law, Michelle Shields, were eager to find a business they could run from their home near Bolton and were thrilled to discover a home- based enterprise with Barking Mad, which provides home from home pet care as an alternative to kennelling. Rebecca and Michelle have always had dogs in their families. Rebecca has wanted to set up her own business since both of her children started school. It was important to her that she could work from home and most importantly, that she enjoyed what she was doing. Michelle has a strong love of animals and lives with her two whippets that are her life. When the opportunity to run a Barking Mad franchise came up it was too good to miss. When they discovered the franchise was available they jumped at the opportunity. "We loved the business idea so much that we decided to take on the South Bolton area!" said Rebecca and Michelle. "We are now able to combine our love of dogs with running our own business. We really enjoy meeting like-minded people and being able to solve their pet care dilemmas, it gives us a tremendous amount of job satisfaction. "Our customers have complete peace of mind knowing their dogs are being cared for in a home environment similar to their own, whilst our host families are able to enjoy all of the benefits of owning a dog but on a part time basis. "They say the best part about being a grandparent is that you have all the fun before handing the grandchildren back, and Barking Mad is the canine equivalent," said Rebecca and Michelle. "The response so far has been amazing, weve been overwhelmed by the number of people who have enquired about our unique service." Founder of the operation, Lee Dancy, developed the flourishing enterprise from an idea which was originally conceived out of sheer frustration when she failed to find suitable care for her own dog. Amazingly, some pet owners simply did not go away if it meant leaving their pets behind and recognising a definite niche in the market, and expanded the service from her base in Lancashire. With heavy emphasis on professionalism and high standards, Barking Mad arranges accommodation for dogs in a genuinely caring environment with select host families, where their existing feeding and exercise routines are maintained. The outstanding success of the venture is due not only to the pets being extremely well cared for, but also because they are suitably matched with a host family whose environment is similar to their own. Many hosts are retired dog lovers who, having owned pets all their lives, do not wish to commit again to the full time responsibility of owning their own dog but miss the companionship. In line with the ambition to exceed expectations, Barking Mad operates a customer satisfaction and referral programme that enables them to carefully monitor the service they provide, whilst increasing their client base. If you would like to enquire about using the Barking Mad service for your pet, or if you're interested in becoming a host, please don't hesitate to contact us. Rebecca and Michelle can be contacted directly on 01204 886062 or 07814 873667 rebecca.hamer@barkingmad.uk.com

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