ABOUT ME
As a dog owner myself, I understand the difficult task we face when it comes to finding the right person to care for our dogs.
I have been working with animals for over 10 years, initially starting out in the animal retail industry, I soon realised this is where my passion lied; predominantly with dogs.
I left retail in 2016 to pursue a role working for a Dog Care franchise business, which I bought into in 2017. Due to the financial burden and impact of COVID-19, I stepped away from this franchise and set up Connie's Canine Care as a dog sitter and walker in 2021. In 2023, to meet client demand, I added Home Boarding to my services. I am licensed with Wigan Council - AAL0154, comprehensively insured and DBS checked.
Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Diploma
Canine First Aid
COVID 19- Disease Control for Pet Professionals
Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Diploma
I always want to learn about dog's, it prepares me to better care for them. I've undertaken courses in Canine Nutrition, Understanding Canine Anxiety, Canine First Aid, Disease Control and I am currently studying Level 3 (OFQUAL) in Canine Care, Welfare & Behaviour.
I do plan to study Canine Communication and Training in the near future.
I've always been an animal lover, having had pets since a baby; dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, fish, budgies, chickens and bearded dragons. Not all at once, I'll add.
At home now, we have Milo, our 10 year old rescue Weshi (westie x shih tzu) and our 3 hens; Mable, Ruby and Lizzie. In 2021, we lost our beautiful rescue cairn Mollie, after suffering with ill health after suddenly going blind (SARDS).
In 2012, we rescued Mollie from Dog's Trust, after initially only going to "look". She had only just arrived with them and was still being assessed, at the time, another family had provisionally reserved her and were due to go that day - fortunately for us, the family didn't turn up and we got Mollie. She was 9 months old and fit in with us and settled straight away. She was a beautiful soul, with typical Cairn traits of cleverness and stubbornness. She loved her walks, especially on the beach and LOVED carrots!
In January 2019, we noticed subtle changes in Mollie's behaviour and one Sunday morning, sharing a piece of morning toast, we realised she couldn't see it. Mollie had gone blind, literally overnight. We were absolutely heart broken and devastated for her. After several inconclusive tests with the vets, we did our own research and discovered SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome) - Mollie's symptoms fit this diagnosis. Although this made Mollie quite depressed for around 6 months, and it took lots of learning and adjustments for all of us, Mollie continued to lead a great life and she taught us that you can overcome anything.
Sadly, Mollie developed issues with her liver, we believe due to the stress caused by the onset of sudden blindness and she passed away on the 8th April 2021, she was 9 years old.
May 2015, Milo joined our family after we came across him being advertised on gumtree as a 4 years old Cairn terrier. We could clearly see he wasn't a cairn, but a definite cross-breed. We learned that he'd had several owners, he wasn't even 2 and he'd had several names. He was a troubled little boy; had no manners, lacked boundaries, was possessive, aggressive, had trust issues and clearly had anxiety and abandonment issues. Those first few weeks were extremely testing for us all. This poor boy needed a lot of help, understanding and patience. He came to us named Ralph, but he didn't know this name, his microchip said his name was Boo; he didn't respond to that either, so we gave him a brand new name.
Milo turned 10 in July 2023 - we can't imagine our home and lives without him. He still has trust issues, but this isn't as extreme and it's only within the last 2 years that he's overcome his separation anxiety. He knows he gets food every day, so no longer wants to rip your face off if you happen to look at him eating. He is the most loyal, loving, happiest little boy and I dread to think what he went through before he came to be a part of our family.
Connie's Canine Care is owned and managed by myself, Sam. I live with my husband, Lee and our 2 daughters, Chloe & Megan.
Here we are, including my dad, celebrating Chloe's 21st birthday.
When I'm not looking after dogs, you'll find me at my allotment, which I took over in April 2023
Connie's Canine Care is named after my mum who sadly passed away in 2019 from lung cancer.
My mum loved dogs and had looked after a few dogs for me in the past. Mollie and Milo were treated like grandchildren and were never left out when it came to present buying - my mum would even send texts on their birthdays!
My mum was my biggest cheerleader, and inheriting her strength and courage saw me through making that huge decision to set up on my own, I know she would have been behind me 100%.