Co Durham woman sets up pet care business

Jan 29 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal

ADVENTUROUS Lesley Thompson is scaling new heights after setting up her own pet care business.

The 51-year-old dog lover from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has set up Special Friends Pet Care, 20 years after she first qualified as a dog obedience competitor, judge and trainer.

It is the latest challenge for Lesley who has worked as a riding teacher, a windsurfing instructor and is currently training to be an accredited mountain leader.

She launched the company after more than a decade working for the charity Breast Cancer Care, teaching people about breast awareness after beating the disease herself.

She said: “I have always loved animals and setting up my own business has been a lifelong ambition.

“Working for Breast Cancer Care was wonderful and something I really needed to do to help others, having overcome breast cancer myself. However, after working for the charity for 13 years and spending the last four of those years based in Sheffield, I decided the time had come to return to my roots and do something for myself.

“My mother had sadly passed away which made me reassess my life and compelled me to move closer to my friends and family in the North East and follow my dream.

“It is fantastic running my own enterprise now, being able to do something that is a personal passion. Very few jobs give you that opportunity.”