The walkers
Sioned started it with a van and four dogs in 2017. Jamie has had the same Pontcanna morning group for most of seven years. Ffion takes the dogs who need a walker to themselves. Every one is DBS checked, insured and first-aid trained, and you meet yours before the first walk.
Owner. The rota, the meet and greets, the Wednesday adventure
Walked her own two labradors round Pontcanna Fields for years before someone asked her to take theirs, and started the business in 2017 with a van and four dogs. Still walks every morning, does every meet and greet herself, and drives the Wednesday adventure. Canine first aid instructor; the walkers do their renewals with her.
Senior walker. Pontcanna and Llandaff groups, the Friday adventure
Joined in 2018 from a kennels in Caerphilly and has had the same Pontcanna morning group, more or less, ever since. Knows every dog on the fields by name and most of the owners by their coat. Drives the Friday adventure to Forest Farm and the beach. Has a collie called Ned who sets the pace.
Walker and trainer. Solo walks, training walks, the nervous ones
IMDT qualified trainer who joined in 2021 and took the solo round: the reactive, the rescues, the dogs in season and the old. Does the training walks and writes the homework, and will tell you plainly when a problem needs a behaviourist rather than a walker. Her own dog is a lurcher called Pwdin who came off the Taff Trail as a stray.
Checks
Renewed every three years, because walkers hold house keys and go in and out of homes when nobody is there.
A certified course, renewed every three years with Sioned, who instructs. Every van carries a kit and the nearest vet's number for each park.
Public liability, care custody and control, and key and lock cover with a specialist pet-business insurer. The certificate is yours to see at the meet and greet.
A new walker spends four weeks on someone else's round before they are given a group of their own, and the owners are told who is coming.
Holidays and cover
The three of us walk each other's groups one day a month on purpose, so that when Jamie takes a week off, Sioned or Ffion are not strangers at the door. You are told who is covering the week before, by name, and the note after each walk still comes.
Book a meet and greetFree, up to forty-five minutes, at your house or on the fields. We meet the dog, agree the days and the walker, and take a key. Message or ring, or use the form, and we reply within the day.