Whether you’re looking for a companion or want to be part of a community in a city, being a dog or cat owner can bring a whole new dimension to your life.
Dubai has never been more pet friendly with many eateries and even beaches allowing dogs into their facilities, but pet abandonment is still common so you have to know exactly what you’re getting into if you want to bring in a new member into the family.
Paw Pals are here to help you navigate. What started as a dog walking and pet sitting company is now a training facility that offers pet taxiing and relocation services. Founder Kate Lindley shares with us how she built a business after redundancy.
What was yourfavouritesubject at school?
It was History as I had an amazing teacher who brought things to life, so much so that I did a History degree at London University.
What was your first job?
My first holiday job was helping in my grandfather’s sheet metal design company
What inspired you to launch Paw Pals?
I have always had cats and dogs as a child. To me, a house is not a home without some paws, feathers or scales! About 10 years ago I got involved in fostering cats, and then dogs, and trying to find them homes, and thenrealisedI had also found my passion. I started slowly by pet-sitting for some friends and then through word of mouth I gained some more clients. I was made redundant from my office job in August 2015 and decided that this was the opportunity I needed to start my own business. Initially it was just me but in time I took on some staff and have an amazing team of women looking after lots of pets across Dubai. In the last year we have expanded and now offer force-free dog training and pet relocations.
What are the key elements of your role?
My role has developed over time and I have had to stop being so much of a control freak. I wanted to do everything myself but as we have grown, I have had to take on people to help with some of the work running the business as I don’t have the time to do it all, such as managing schedules. I am still very hands on and do some pet visits myself as it truly the best part of the job and I get excited to see pets I haven’t seen for a while.
I like to oversee all aspects as Paw Pals is very personal to me and while I have no option but to do a lot of the admin type work I initially thought I could get away from, I accept that is part and parcel of a growing business.
Talk us through your daily routine.
I usually wake up quite early, around 5 am, let the dogs out into the garden and put the coffee on. I usually spend the next hour or so replying to emails and social media messages and then it is time to start my walking my clients’ dogs and then come home and walk my own dogs. After this I will do our daily social media posts and admin work again until its time for my lunchtime client visits.
I think its super important that I also meet my human clients myself as I want to have that personal relationship with all my clients, human and pet. If I have any new client meetings will usually try and do them around my lunchtime visits. On a good day I get to be home to relax with my dogs and cats for a few hours and if I don’t have any evening walks, I will try and take one of my dogs to our group training classes. You really can teach dogs new tricks and its great to see how our clients are improving and building a solid relationship with their own dogs.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to follow in the same footsteps?
Follow your dreams, believe in what you are doing and do it to the best of your ability. The most important resources you have are your integrity and the team you have around you. Treat your staff as well as you can as happy and valued employees are invaluable.
Which fashion brands can we find in your work wardrobe?
I work with animals so you will largely find me in sports wear, a company T-shirt and a trusted pair of Birkenstocks! But I do have a great weakness for pretty shoes. My prized fashion item is a very glittery and girly pair of Jimmy Choo’s but they are definitely not dog walking shoes.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
Believe in yourself, work hard, and everything will always work out in the end.
And what is the worst?
You will never be able to make a living from pet sitting. Thankfully this has been proved wrong.
What has been the biggest challenge you had to overcome?
The biggest struggle initially was getting my trade license. In 2015 it was much more challenging than it is now and as I was doing something a little out of the box it was quite hard to explain what I was doing. Thankfully I now have the most amazing PRO, a great woman who sorts out those kinds of problems for me.
That said, I think the next few months are going to be very challenging for a lot of small businesses. We really need to be thinking on our feet and finding a new way forward in these unprecedented times. We have already started this by offering our clients the options of using Zoom for our dog training sessions and developing a 21-day distance trainingprogrammefor both children and adults.
Dealing with people and their beloved pets can sometimes be a challenge in various ways but I love what I do and wouldn’t change a thing.
