Lisa

*Please note that we do not take dogs bigger than a typical labrador*

Hi, my name is Lisa, I'm an avid animal lover! We always had loads of animals growing up: dogs, cats, rabbits, fish, turtles, hamsters, etc. I can't physically walk past a dog without wanting to say hello. My last pet baby (my best girl Boo, the black and white dog pictured above) passed away 5 years ago and I hadn't been able to build up the courage to go through losing another pet so decided not to adopt again. However, my sister is a veterinary nurse and would sometimes foster or mind other people's dogs and I quickly found that I was spending a lot of time going to her place to hang out with the different dogs, playing with them, and bringing them out on my forest walks. I love walking in nature and hiking mountains and will usually get at least 3 or 4 hours in per day. I had been beginning to find my solo adventures getting lonely without any animal friends to accompany me so this was the perfect opportunity for me to help out and get some canine company too. I began taking friends' dogs out with me when they went to work and began getting requests for also taking dogs while they went on holiday and it just built from there. I also have a keen interest in animal photography so started building a collection of different photos of quirky canines so you can expect lots of doggie photos! Living in North Wicklow has me close to a lot of great hiking and trekking trails so I always aim to get the dogs loads of exercise during the day. I have a very secure garden with walls fences and a large gate to ensure no animals can escape. 

What to expect when I take your pet for home boarding: Myself and my husband work mainly from home so there will always be someone with the dogs 24 hours a day. I tend to take a long walk or hike in the morning for at least 2 hours or more and then another walk in the evenings. Then on the weekends, we like to go on all-day hikes so we will ensure your pets get plenty of exercise while with us. I am kitted out for all weather(obviously within reason :-)) so your pet will be taken out come rain or shine! Myself, my husband and my 16-year-old son are all dog lovers so they are always given tons of attention, cuddles, and playtime. The dogs will be sleeping indoors at night in our living room. We aim to ensure your pets' time with us is like a holiday! As I mentioned, my sister is a head veterinary nurse, so I have expert medical advice should there be any special requirements with any of the dogs I care for. I am quite strict about keeping the number of dogs I take per day low to avoid any complications with nervous dogs so if there needs to be special care taken then your dog or dogs will be the only ones that I will take on those days. Please enjoy my little gallery of the boys and girls above and I look forward to meeting your canine pals!

*We will only be taking vaccinated dogs into our home and proof of vaccinations will be required. 

*Unfortunately, due to the cost of multiple dry cleaning bills, we cannot take on dogs that are not properly housetrained. Because of this, we cannot take dogs under the age of 1 year or any much older incontinent dogs. Please, please let us know about these issues as we have had a few dog owners who have not informed us about their dog's incontinence problems and we have had to cancel the booking halfway through and the owners have had to organise someone to pick up their dogs from us.

*Please note that we cannot accept dogs that will be barking throughout the night. This is unfair on our family and our neighbours. Please be transparent with any issues your dog might have with this as we do not want to have to cancel a booking during the stay. It causes hassle for both the owner and our family. If this does occur the owner will have to organise alternative accommodation for their pet. 

*I can only accept dogs that are properly leash trained and are not leash aggressive or aggressive towards other dogs or other people when brought out on walks. Especially with larger much stronger dogs. For this reason, we do not accept breeds larger than 25kg. I have students visiting my house for lessons so we can only take dogs who will not be hostile toward strange people entering the home. 

Thank you so much for reading my profile!