So as the UK prepares to re-open more shops and public places we are reflecting on our first month back open post the Covid-19 shutdown. As you will all know I made the decision to close initially due to my husband being in the shielding group as he had just finished chemotherapy treatment - after 12 weeks not being allowed out (except sitting in the car park at booths while I did the shopping his immunity levels are now back to normal and he is allowed out into the big wide world again!! He is continueing his role as my glamorous assistant and we have now added a dog taxi service to what we offer our customers. For a small fee (£5) Peter will collect your dog (from lancaster/morecambe) and bring it to the salon and return your dog home when his groom is completed. He has also completed a pet first aid course on line as part of his preparation and will have all appropriate PPE. We hope this service will be helpful for those of you still shielding or who may need to self isolate or just would find it easier to have someone bring your dog to us. I think he's enjoying being part of the team. We have not yet had Edie our Saturday girl back in to work - we are being advised by the pet federation to bath the dogs as soon as they arrive to reduce risk of picking up any infection which may be spread by them - it therefore feels wrong to have her doing the most "risky" part of our work. We are keeping in touch with her and she too is completing the pet First Aid course. Ang was due to have her last Saturday and leaving do just as we went into lockdown so unfortunately we weren't able to give her a good send off but we wish her well and I am sure she will pop in from time to time. Nat had literally just started working with us one day a week prior to lockdown and she has worked really hard over the last 6 weeks to help us get through the very long list of dogs who were waiting for a post lockdown haircut! She has been an absolute godsend - she works so hard and her grooms are fab - I am sure she will have her own waiting list of pooches very soon.
We are now getting back into the swing of things and getting the dogs back into their usual haircuts and schedules - we have had our fair share of very hairy dogs over the past few weeks as you can imagine. We continue to meet customers down at the animal care tea rooms as the general public are not yet allowed in the main site - this has thrown up a few challenges - dogs who aren't keen on walking or who are easily distracted by all the "news" to read on the way up the lane, remembering to take/wear the appropriate PPE, phone, glasses and card machine with me is a daily mission! But it is great to be back, great to be seeing all our lovely customers again, great to chat to you all and check you are all ok and above all great to see all the lovely dogs and meet new ones. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
