Having been surrounded with so many animals throughout her childhood, it’s no wonder that Caroline Kelly has become such a devoted animal lover and sought her career in caring for them. The same month Caroline was born, her parents decided it was the right time to have a puppy to join the new family too.
Little did they know the hard work it would bring but they managed all the same. Caroline’s father took to training their Golden Retriever Lady very well; and enjoyed the Obedience competitions they went on to enter.
Her parents didn’t stop at just one dog for the family pet; as Caroline and her younger brother grew up they shared their home with 3 cats, 3 Guinea Pigs, Tropical fish, one rabbit, numerous Cockatiels and Budgies and one little
Hamster named Harry. Lady also added to the house hold with her own litter of pups (which was planned of course).
As the years passed they sadly lost Lady at age 14 and as most heartbroken owners’ state, they weren’t going to have another!
However, later that same year of 1989, they all agreed their home didn’t feel right without a dog and along came Jess (see Petcarers in the News) another beautiful Golden Retriever. As Caroline had watched her father train Lady, she decided she would like to try the same. Jess and Caroline became inseparable - they went everywhere together, not just training but also after school while she went out with her friends.
In early 2004 Caroline got married and moved into her new house with her husband, the time had come to get pets of her own. After doing lots research of different cat breeds, they decided to get two Ragdoll kittens. A very relaxed breed with two important factors for the Kelly’s, good with children and dogs! Minnie Minx and Bosley were just that as they have since proved and time and time again. The problem of owning two cats came when they wanted to take a holiday. Who would care for the cats? Using a cattery was never an option for Caroline but thankfully her dad stayed with them for three weeks.
This had set the ball rolling for future career ideas.
Once Petcarers was established in May 2004 Caroline immediately signed up for the Basic Animal Nursing course in Hartpury College, University of the West of England - learning all about First Aid.
One of Petcarers first clients was a beautiful Black Labrador named Harry; Caroline was smitten and was pleased to be asked to help train him so she embarked on a training course shared with his owner, at Puppytime Dog Training in Cheltenham.
Once business partner Sue Pitcher had joined the team, Caroline enrolled them both on a Clicker Training course with the APDT (www.apdt.co.uk). This opportunity was amazing for both girls and Caroline was blown away by the clicker training method and way of thinking. Eager to extend the business to one-2-one training the clicker way, Caroline’s love is working with puppies.
Since Petcarers began, Caroline has gained a vast experience of different dogs and different breeds along with the enjoyment of visiting a copious amount of cats and small animals while their owners are away enjoying a stress free holiday.