I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to open the kennels back in 1998 alongside my mum Audrey, who has now retired.

I can’t remember a time when Slaney wasn’t my life, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have lived on site at Slaney since 2010 with my husband and three children, when we built our family home here. I’m a bit of a soft touch with any dogs that need a bit of extra TLC and will often bring them to my house for extra attention and cuddles.

Although I seem to be more of a slave to the paperwork in recent years, I’m never happier than when I can leave the desk and papers behind and be in the fields walking with the dogs.

The business has grown and developed massively over the years and I am immensely proud of the outstanding reputation the Slaney name holds.

The team of staff here at Slaney are all incredible and you could not wish to meet a nicer group of ladies who all love animals as much as myself and my family.

Emma is the early bird of the team….you’ll find her doing laps of the field at 6am preparing for a busy day before the other staff arrive. She’s never happier than in a pair of muddy boots surrounded by animals.

As a dab hand with a needle and thread, she’s also our resident stitcher/fixer with dog beds, coats and cuddly toys need some TLC.

Emma started with us way back in 2006 and will be a familiar face to all our regular customers. She started as a Saturday girl and has worked her way up to the role of assistant manageress, working full time and living on site, running the kennels alongside Lisa for many years.

She now lives locally with her partner and son, and since the Slaney team has grown, has been ale to take a small step back to spend quality time with her little boy whilst he’s young.

Eve is our admin lover and is a familiar face and voice to all our customers. With amazing social skills with both people and animals, you’ll usually find her greeting your pets at the gate or in the office replying to customer messages and phone calls until late into the evening.

Eve started with us way back in 2007, walking a few dogs over the summer and is now assistant manageress.

She has a daughter, horse and pets of her own and absolutely thrives on being kept busy, loves a challenge and nothing ever phases her.

With an eye for detail and a photographic memory, you can always rely on Eve to remember your pets’ quirks, likes and dislikes (surprisingly even if we don’t see them for months or years at a time!)

Kylie was already a friend of Slaney before working here as she has her beautiful horse here on livery. She joined us in 2022 to help out walking dogs over a busy summer and quickly became an invaluable part of our team.

It was clear from the start that Kylie was able to take on a more senior role and she quickly became a supervisor, offering guidance and support to more junior members of the team.

She’s never afraid to get her hands dirty and the animals’ happiness and comfort is her number one priority.

Coming from an equine/horse racing background, means that the long hours involved in animal care never phase her. If that means staying late into the evening to give everyone comfy bedding, starting early to get a head start on a busy day, or walking late due to the heat in summer, she’s always happy to do it.

Hugely knowledgeable on dogy first aid, she’s our ‘go to’ if anyone gets a bump or scratch, is undefeated in getting a defiant dog to swallow it’s tablet or have their eye drops and always knows the best course of action should any problem arise.

Eleanor is our lover of all things clean and tidy.

She only joined us in 2023 and although is only young, she is hugely knowledgeable about dogs and cats and quickly proved herself as capable of a more senior role.

She’s now able to be in charge when management is away for a day or two and we always know we will come back to a clean, organised kennels with happy animals.

You’ll find her throwing a ball in the fields as she loves to tire all our high-energy dogs out. She has a dog of her own, a young Labrador called George, who often comes for doggy daycare to join in the fun.

Eleanor is often the one responsible for getting the amazing photos uploaded onto our Facebook page and we still haven’t figured out how she manages to get 5 dogs all looking at the camera at the same time!

Our hard working Lottie is always clocking in early, eager to start the day.

Lottie has her own dog walking business and owns the dog walking paddock at North Muskham that many of you will be familiar with, alongside working part time at Slaney.

She has also recently added two young Labradors to her family.

Hugely compassionate towards animals with a real sensitivity towards their needs, she’ll always go the extra mile to make sure they are comfortable and never without attention. With an affinity for cats, you’ll find her regularly nipping over to the cattery checking in our feline friends throughout the day.

Lottie is our most recent recruit having only started with us in 2023, but has slotted right into the Slaney team.

Sophie P is our feline favourite.

With an empathetic nature and eye for detail, you can always rely on Sophie to remember all our boarders’ little quirks.

She is particularly skilled in the cattery at settling in any nervous cats, she can sense what it is that’s bothering them and will always win them round!

Sophie began helping out in 2022, after moving her horses to Slaney on livery a couple of years before this. She now works a few mornings a week, alongside raising her little girl and caring for her own cats, dog and horses.

Sophie M is the youngest member of the team and joined us in 2022.

Working pretty much full time, Sophie thoroughly cares for each animal she comes across throughout the day, is very sensitive to all their needs and ensures that all the animals are comfortable and enjoy their stay. She knows all of our regulars’ quirks, likes and dislikes.

She has 7 dogs herself; a collection of Labradors, Bulldogs and border terriers of all ages who all like to keep her busy when she’s not at Slaney. All of her dogs enjoy visiting Slaney, whether it’s just for daycare or longer stays. Having so many dogs herself, she believes it’s important to give each anima individual care and attention as she never likes anybody to feel left out or forgotten.

Sue joined our team in 2013 after retiring from a long career in nursing and midwifery and helps us out during many of our busier weeks throughout the year.

She gained the nickname ‘Speedy Sue’ as we’ve never seen anyone quicker with a mop and bucket!

She’s rarely seen without a raincoat, as it’s an ongoing joke that it always seems to rain whenever Sue works….. but she cracks on nonetheless .

Sue has two grown up children and a collection of her own pets to keep her busy when she’s not at Slaney.

Grace is a kind, caring person who is great with animals and people. Always smiling face, full of energy and happy to chat to anyone.

She has recently completed her level 6 in Animal Management and studied the dogs here at Slaney for her dissertation and learnt that human interaction is key to making a dog feel reassured and comforted in unfamiliar surroundings… something we are huge advocates of at Slaney.

Grace is our self-confessed crazy guinea pig lady and 15 of her own rescue guinea pigs that keep her busy when she’s not studying hard or working at Slaney.