My name is Marie-Claire, but please call me Mazzie. I'm the owner of Poppy and Pals Pet Care. I have always been a keen animal lover, growing up with three dogs and many cats.  I forever drove my family mad with all the waifs and strays that attached themselves to me.  At one point I had two blackbird chicks and a duckling living in our bathroom!

It was inevitable that my career would involve some sort of animal care.  And after a two-week work experience placement at the NCDL (now DogsTrust), I started to fall in love with dogs.  It wasn't until I was 16 and finally allowed a dog of my own that I fell head over heels in love with all things canine, and I fell hard.  The dog in question was Bramble, a skinny, unsocial and very nervous 10-month-old rescue Border collie cross from the border collie trust.  And so my long journey into behaviour modification, training and a life covered in dog fur began.

Over the twelve years, I was privileged to know him he blossomed into a friendly and outgoing lad who welcomed five other rescue canines into his life as well as many small furry (feathered and scaly) creatures.  Since losing my old boy, I now live with a mutley crewe of four misfit pups as sadly we lost our little name sake Poppy during 2016, they all have or have had various behaviour and physical issues which have added to my skill set and my heart. To my detriment I love a challenge and the dogs that choose me all seem to know that.

I have a scientifically based foundation degree (FdSc) in Canine Behaviour and Training which took me three long years to earn.  Over that time I studied a diverse range of subjects from nutrition, training methods and the science behind them to alternative therapies and many more.  

I now use all this knowledge in my behaviour assessments and as a result offer a more holistic approach to behaviour rehabilitation therapy.  I also hold various smaller certificates including first aid training and I am a proud member of the pet professional guild and I am a recognised Fear Free certified professional. I also attend training days when possible and regularly read books and listen to webinars to keep my knowledge up to date.

 

We often get asked who ‘Poppy’ is.  When deciding on a name for my business I went through many options but I wanted something personal because after all the service we offer is based around the importance of your pet so it was decided that a name based on one of our pets would do that perfectly.  

Poppy came to live with us at seven weeks old but sadly left us during June of 2016 after a short battle with cancer.  She encompassed everything we offer, she was a very nervous and noise phobic little girl out of the house and as a result needed careful handling, but she was mad fun with it, she adored swimming and getting dirty and despite being totally blind it didn’t stop her one little bit!

Yes. We now have staff.

We got so busy and fed up of turning needy owners and pets away we decided it was time to hire.  It has taken us a long time to find the perfect fit for our little business but we feel that we have.

Passion for pets is not enough, we require all our staff to get first aid trained, become DBS checked and gain knowledge through professional certificates.