A Day In The Life Of – Petpals Chislehurst

13th June 2018

• Name: Ray Hipwell
• Petpals Territory: Chislehurst
• Areas covered: Chislehurst, Bromley, Mottingham, Petts Wood and surrounding areas
• Territory Purchased: May 2017
• Previous profession: Driver Trainer – training the London Fire Brigade

Ray says: ‘I often think that dogs are like children, they need to be walked, exercised, and loved, they need your time and the younger ones need your help and direction.’

The Day Begins

So it’s Monday morning and the young puppy of 8 months we are looking after, has me up early for trip into the garden having slept since 10pm last night. Wandering downstairs the other boarders are waking up (unlike my own two dogs upstairs still snoring their heads off) and everybody is happy and very pleased to see me. I let them all out into the garden, giving me a bit of time to sort myself out before putting on the leads and going for a quick morning walk.

Breakfast time

Back home, breakfast (for them and me), and the day starts properly. I need to drop off and pick up various dogs and get them back to base, then the sitter arrives to entertain and walk the day boarders, the house is full of fun and energy and the dogs just love seeing each other. Then it’s off for me to start collecting my first walk of the day. I collect various canines around the area and then pick up my dog walking buddy, who will have already been out doing house calls.

First walk

The first walk of the day is generally the same dogs every day, so they know each other well and they just love being out and about together. We walk for an hour and then return them back to their homes, suitably tired and ready for a rest.

Second walk

Then we are ready to start picking up dogs for ‘dog walk number 2’; the mid-morning madness has begun, the dogs are always so pleased to see us and the walk is always such good fun, lots of balls being thrown and running and playing. We use a variety of different locations so they don’t get bored of the same park every day.

The afternoon

Once we get the morning walks and visits out of the way the afternoon is always a little slower and quieter but we will still do at least another two walks, meaning on average we do between 4 and 6 walks a day and in the summer months there is quite often a late wander round the woods, with the night boarders.

Cat visits

In between these walks we have the cat visits, who are always lovely to call in and see. These are normally done by one of my Petpals staff, with me taking over to do the later calls.

The end of the day

Generally I am finished by 5-6pm but then I am often out on assessments, meeting new customers, so my day ends around 7.30 / 8pm.

Why do I love running Petpals Chislehurst?

When asked why I decided to leave my comfy mid-life job for a busy life owning and running my own Petpals business, I always tell people this:

Animals are unconditional, as long as you are kind to them they will love you no matter what, they do not shout or argue and are great fun. Sometimes it can be difficult, but the rewards for your hard work and patience are endless.

My office is basically out in the open air, I don’t have to dress up, I wear my shorts and the Petpals uniform all seasons and all weathers, I very rarely get ill and I have a nice tan all year round.

Would I recommend this life to anyone?…… YES!

ENDS                                                                                                                                                                JUNE 1018

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