Dog Blog A Week – Paws for Pleasure and my prize-winner rescue dog or two or three!
Question of the day (QotD) – Do you use a secure dog field to walk your dog and if yes, why? I would love to hear more.
Sue was my prize winner from my National Pet Month Competition in May, she runs ‘Hearts 4 Paws Dog Rescue’ in Mid Devon. I will be writing a future blog about her and the amazing work she does. In the meantime, a very brief outline for you… Sue rescues any dog in need, but her heart is primarily for Spanish Dogs. For Sue’s shoot we picked two of her own dogs she rescued many years ago. We wanted somewhere special, a safe environment to photograph them, where they could run free without risk to themselves or other wildlife.
I chose a brand-new secure dog field for our shoot called ‘Paws for Pleasure’ in Thorverton, Devon. It was fantastic. It gave Sue the peace of mind she needed, and I could get stunning portraits of her dogs in a relaxed open area. It was a ‘win win’ in my book. We went for an early morning shoot as it was going to be a warm day, I prefer an early or late shoot to keep the dogs cool and happy.
I had a lovely chat to the owners of Paws for Pleasure afterwards, Karl and his wife Vanessa. I am happy to announce I can now use their facility as a safe space for photographing the more nervous or reactive dog. It really was a lovely successful day, meeting new people, hearing their passions and reasons for doing what they do and most of all, just having fun photographing dogs! All before 9am!
https://www.facebook.com/pawsforple4sure
Karl also took some time out to answer some questions for you, read on to find out more about them and their reason for creating such a beautiful, safe place.
How does your business help dogs and their people?
We offer 5 star, secure, solace dog walking facilities for reactive dogs.
What are your goals and ambitions for your business over the next year and how can we help?
For people and their dogs to use our secure field without having to worry about their dogs being attacked, stolen, attacking other dogs or livestock and to give them space and peace to train re-call, general training etc. in a beautifully scenic environment with first class facilities.
What was your biggest triumph from the last year?
Setting the site up.
What is your favourite part of your job?
Watching all sorts of different dog breeds and their owners enjoying our facilities, many have said "my dog has not been running like this off the lead for years!" And to see the smiles on the owners faces, knowing their dogs are having a fantastic time.
What are your favourite things about your community of clients, customers and supports?
The variety of people and pups we meet! They all have their own characters. I love to see people with rescue dogs, we had a lady here the other day with 4 rescues, what she was doing was really special for those animals.
If you were to start a business again, what advice would you give yourself in general?
Plan in advance, do your research and then do it all again to double check before starting!
What is the earliest dog related memory that you can recall?
My Grandfathers dog as a child, how he used to protect the whole family.
Name three things you couldn’t live without?
Air, Water, Food, no seriously, my family, my friends, good health.
If you are local or maybe passing through, I highly recommend booking a session at Paws for Pleasure, check out their facilities and support one of our local dog business.
https://www.facebook.com/pawsforple4sure
Don’t forget to drop me a comment for my ‘Question of the day’ (QotD) – Do you use a secure dog field to walk your dog and is yes, why? I would love to know.
I will be bringing you a blog featuring Sue at Hearts 4 Paws Dog Rescue very soon but if you are keen to find out more about her and the amazing work she does go to her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Hearts-4-Paws-Dog-Rescue
Bye for now.
Fiona