Richard Thomas – Proprietor

I love dogs of all shapes and sizes, we had Yorkshire Terriers and mixed breed dogs whilst growing up, but if I’m totally honest, I’m drawn to large breeds and before we had Darcie and Chester (our Giant Schnauzer and Italian Spinone), we had Millie; a stunningly beautiful chocolate labrador who stole our heart for over 13 years. To this day she is still irreplaceable.

It’s a given that I take animal care extremely seriously and whilst being a life-long animal owner accounts for a lot of experience, I believe it’s critical that as a pet industry professional and proprietor of a boarding business, this needs to be backed up with formal industry specific qualifications.

I attained my Diploma in Boarding Kennels (passing with distinction) and Level 3 Professional Day-care and Boarding qualifications earlier in 2019 which has allowed me to reaffirm and consolidate my industry knowledge and help give me confidence and credibility in the workplace.

For your added peace of mind, all our key kennel staff are pet trained professionals across a range of animal management or veterinarian science qualifications.

I have a mechanical background having served 13 years in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, followed by 20 years working for RAC Motoring Services in various technical and management roles. The experience gained from direct customer contact as enabled me to understand the importance of customer satisfaction and managing their expectations.

I’m a hands on manager with a strong eye for detail and quality is important to me – my motto is, “if you are going to do a job, do it properly” – and I truly believe that this ethos combined with our other core values will help drive Happy Hounds forward to achieve great success. I look forward to welcoming you along on the journey.