Our kennels we had

Well, you’d hope so, really. You couldn’t expect a refund for coming back early because you’d booked the space and the kennels probably wouldn’t be able to refill it at short notice so they’d lose out on the money :thinking:

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Exactly. Our childminder used to have similar arguments with some parents who occasionally used to pick up their children a bit early and thought they should get a discount.

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@realspeed, no doubt you insisted that animals were up to date with their jabs, but did you ever experience any outbreaks of any nasties?

Exactly ,same with advanced deposits not that happened as long as I remember. After all it is a business. Also clients on the premises would not be covered on our third-party insurance outside our open hours

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Some people have got more front than Brighton. Bet they didn’t want to pay more when they turned up late

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Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 covers this which is a requirement for getting a licence. We could contact a vet if necessary. On top of this we had isolation kennels in the other half of the old stables fully equiped for heating and lighting ,but I don’t have any photos to show you.

We also covered people who bought their dogs when viewing to board by providing yet another holding kennel so the dog didn’t have to stay in a hot car or mix with those already boarding.

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In the 20+ years I think we only had a couple complaints. One person wanted to board a very old cat in it last years of life. The ramp to the upstair sleeping area in the cattery it was to old to manage, so we refused to accept it. The owner lodged a comlaint to Phil the environment health inspector who gave us our licence. i will leave you to guess what he must have told this person.

Another time a complaint went in about the terrible smell in the kennels, This time the farmer in the field behind the kennel block had upset the muck spreader right behind the kennels.

On a brighter note we boarded for Simon Rattle (the famous orchester conductor) wifes dog called Ricky. The mayor in the mayoral car of walsall ,and several of the walsall football team ,
We had a Bentley car turn up with the number plate HRH 2 belonging to Mr Steve Joynes owner a the time of Hoare Cross Hall now in joint partnership. even got a private invite to visit.

even the local police used our field when we boarded for labrador rescue when we first took over. They wanted to see if any were good enough as sniffer dogs

Strange inspectors turn up on occassion. the dark wooden door in the video was where the two isolation kennels were located

also a pheasant who strolled in and out of the kennel used for when people urned up

Never work with Children or Animals!

the difference is animals will never lie to you, children will. However we did take on school children for work experience, usually for a couple of weeks. This subject to the school visit and approval as well as parents/gardians. We had to stop doing this, not that we wanted to, but new regulations made it impossble to carry on. Type of thing was a child must be accompanied at all times by owners or staff of the same sex. So the schools and the children lost out

Looking back now buying and spending on upgrading the kennels and cattery was the best move we ever made. Could I do it all over again ? No would I do it again given the circumstances leading up to buying the place? Definitely. Being self employed the finance goes into one’s own pocket not a remote boss who just sit on their backside

That was Britain at its finest, the nation of shopkeepers, the aspiration was to work for oneself, just to replicate the income earned on the production line under ones own steam, and the freedom it offered, then, the entrepreneurs started, and the fairytale ensued.