About Me!

Welcome to my dog walking and pet sitting business! My name is Alix, and I am passionate about providing exceptional care for your family pets. With an extensive background in animal behaviour, welfare, and management, I ensure that every pet in my care receives the utmost attention, love, and professional service. Here’s a little about my journey and qualifications:

Meet My Pets

I have grown up surrounded by various animals, including rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, fish, cats, and dogs. Currently, I have seven wonderful Border Collies:

• Shadow: An elderly, deaf black and white boy with a passion for fetch and swimming.

• Bailey: A sassy red and white tricolour with strong herding instincts.

• Nala: A small red and white who brings joy to everyone she meets by sticking out her tongue and chasing anything that moves.

• Jasmine: Another red and white with fabulous vocal skills.

• Maya: A blue and white with a crazy personality.

• Nova: Another blue and white who loves chasing pigeons.

• Custard: A stubborn gold and white with a love for learning and training.

In addition to my own dogs, I also share my space with a boarding kennel and cattery so have the joy of spending my spare time with many cats and dogs from all backgrounds!

I also have Tropical and Freshwater Fish, adding to my pet family and have owned cats for over 25 years and this is the first time in my entire life without one!

Experience and Educational Background

During my time at secondary school, I volunteered for 6 months at a Dog and Cat Rescue Centre. This provided me with so much knowledge of many of the different breeds of dog and their own individual needs and quirks! It also taught me the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in improving prospects for ill and injured animals.

Following this, my mum purchased a boarding kennel and cattery in the summer of 2013 as I was beginning my A Levels. This allowed me to gain even more experience of how to care for cats and dogs and I completed many courses online on Animal Welfare and Husbandry. Since 2013, I have worked in another boarding kennel and cattery in the North East during my university studies and have helped to run my mums business with her and on her behalf. Pre-Covid we rehomed many rescue dogs from Romania and Bulgaria of which many were fear aggressive at first. It's also shown me that for a lot of dogs, kennelling does not work, and for many cats, catteries can be very stressful environments regardless of how amazing the facilities are.

Multiple times throughout working with my mum we have not been able to accommodate some pets due to lack of availability. This has meant us going into their homes to feed, walk and socialise their pets in their absence many times. On a few of these occasions, I have stayed over at their houses to pet sit and alternate lights and blinds to ensure people weren't aware they were away to protect the security of their homes too. Also due to a lack of small animal boarding facilities nearby, I have regularly cared for and provided drop-in services for rabbits and small mammals as well.

During the COVID pandemic, I became a fully trained dog groomer and met loads of amazing pups for welfare grooms. My mum and I worked in our purpose built building with two grooming rooms and had many regular clients until we had to shut this in January 2025 to focus on our rescue and rehabilitation work instead. This is something I really hope to start up again in the future but for now, will continue to keep my skills sharp with my own hairy mutts!

I have also completed two separate Pet First Aid courses, one online and one in person to practice and harness my skills and give me the confidence to act under pressure. More recently, I have been working with many seized dogs, most of which have been removed from their homes as they can't be cared for e.g. owners being in long term care. This has been heart-breaking at times as many of these dogs have not been able to adjust slowly to long term kennelling and would be much better cared for in their own environments instead. This has motivated me to start 'Fur Your Convenience'!

Hobbies and Interests

Clearly most of my time is taken up caring for animals in many different settings but outside of pet care I regularly attend Hoopers classes with my dog Nala - she is proof you can always teach an old dog new tricks! Hoopers allows her to keep active without putting pressure on her joints and hips. So far she has managed to achieve both her Foundation and Bronze awards within a year of starting! We are now working towards her Silver.

I have also always enjoyed drawing and producing artwork. Obviously many of these pieces are based around animals but I do enjoy using different media from fine liners, shading pencils, colouring pencils and markers and adopting different styles as well.

The ice hockey is another keen interest of mine. Myself, my brother and my mother all regularly attend The Nottingham Panthers games within the EIHL. Although we are avid supporters, its my brother who understands the stats and explains the rules to me - I just go for the atmosphere!

Finally, I have previously been a competitive cheerleader and cheerleading coach. I began cheerleading at the age of 10 years old in a small Scout Hut and have since been a part of 4 different teams, both coaching and competing across the UK.

Why Choose Me?

With a strong educational background, extensive hands-on experience, and a genuine passion and understanding for animal welfare, I am dedicated to providing the highest quality care for your pets. Whether it's daily walks, pet sitting, or more specialised care, you can trust that your pets are in knowledgeable and capable hands with me.

Feel free to reach out to discuss how I can help, I look forward to meeting you and your pets very soon!

Alix

Fur Your Convenience