Petpals, caring for your pets in the ‘New Normal’ COVID-safe way
30th September 2020
So here we are in late September 2020 and COVID is still here, which none of us ever imagined it would be. So that’s the bad news. The GOOD NEWS is that Petpals businesses across the country are now extremely experienced at caring for your pets in a COVID-safe and secure way and we’d like to share some of our experiences with you.
Petpals – a COVID secure business operator
As you would expect Petpals are a COVID secure business operator working to COVID secure guidelines and complying with the latest DEFRA and the national Canine & Feline Sector Group (CFSG) advice on caring for pets. But what does that look like in reality? How does it affect our clients and the services we offer?
Safety Precautions for your pet and your home
Our staff always wear gloves and masks when in your home. We still play with your indoor pets but we try to keep contact to a minimum. We disinfect all surfaces we touch and we ask owners to keep pets in one room, if possible, to minimise our contact with your property. When collecting a dog when the owner is at home, we ask them to put the dog in a secure ‘handover’ area such as a hall/utility room or garden, if possible. This works particularly well for those who are self-isolating. If you haven’t used Petpals before and this all sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry, we will carry out a comprehensive assessment of your pets requirements, before we start.
Petpals Salisbury – keeping things COVID clean
Our thanks to Jo who owns Petpals Salisbury for taking these photos of her working day, using COVID-safe measures.
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- Keping the van scrupulously clean during COVID-19
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- A freshly cleaned cage, ready for the next occupant
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- Preparing a cat’s dinner in a client’s home – mask and gloves on
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- Keeping contact to a minimum but making sure kitty gets fed on time!
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- Feeding a rabbit in a safe way during COVID
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- Visiting a tortoise at home, mask and gloves on of course
Petpals Chislehurst – a case study
Ray and Sandra Hipwell, owners of Petpals Chislehurst
We thought you might like to hear the thoughts directly from one of our Petpals business owners who has spent the last seven months walking and
boarding dogs and visiting cats and other pets under the new safety measures.
Sandra and Ray, owners of Petpals Chislehurst said,
‘It is imperative that we observe the three essential government guidelines, hands, face and space at all times. Looking after cats for our clients is pretty straightforward and the cats are pretty chilled about the whole experience, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their dinner time!
‘For our dog walking visits we contact the owners giving them 10 minutes notice of our arrival, if they are going to be at home when we call. This works really well and it is such a wonderful feeling when we open a front or side door and a very excited canine comes towards you wagging their tail, knowing full well that they are going on a super-great walk. We also collect dogs from their back gardens, where there is sufficient access for us. This was a bit tricky at the beginning, when dogs who had no idea why they had been shut outside, were suddenly faced with someone in their back garden wearing a mask! Glad to say that after a few visits they got the hang of it. Our whole team is working like clockwork using the new measures and we are thrilled to see so many old and new clients returning to a regular routine with us.’
Returning to work – pet care from Petpals
If you have to return to work soon or even if you are working from home and can’t spare as much time as you would like to take your dog out or maybe you are going on holiday, please don’t be nervous about using the services of a fully trained and insured professional pet carer like Petpals. Every precaution is being taken to ensure you, your pets and our staff remain safe and COVID free so you can enjoy your holiday or focus on your job, with the confidence of knowing your pet is being cared for in a safe and loving way.
ENDS October 2020
Petpals has over 50 operations covering most of the United Kingdom. If you would like to know more about buying your own Petpals franchise. please click here for more information about how to make your dream of working with animals, come true.
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