Have I always dreamed of running my own business and having an online platform? - short answer, no far far from it. . I have had Crohn’s Disease since I was 15 years old - I have had many surgeries and many many tests and investigations all of which hampered my number one wish from a child which was to be a vet. So I changed direction and worked on a yard with horses to allow me to have the money to put myself through my NASDU security dog handler and more crucially my proactive and passive level 3 search dog handler exams. The Police would definitely been an amazing option for me to then work with the dogs but with how the rules were at the time having a chronic illness didn’t allow me to join up. . I had an amazing teacher for my exams who made it very clear to me that I was in no way going to have a job at his company once I passed my exams as I wasn’t ex police or military, and had I found work else where? . I hadn’t as no one will employ you until you have the qualifications - so I did what I do best and just hung around, did weekends in kennels and generally got in the way until Bob said if I give you a job will you actually go home?
I said Yes and so began my career working in Prisons, NHS secure units, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres and schools to name some. I worked my dogs everyday all day and I couldn’t have been happier, I learnt a great deal and I was so happy and settled with work. The connection I had with those dogs with the hours we worked together was incredible - I could read them like a book. . My health then became very problematic again and I was told I had something (still undiagnosed as so complicated) wrong with my blood. It left me super vulnerable to picking up infections and with the environments I worked in I was advised to leave work by consultants. . I didn’t want to but I had to also think of family and friends around me that put their lives on hold to help every time I went into hospital, it isn’t just me it effects. Loosing that job and those dogs was the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me. . So then I needed a plan and this is where Kit4dogs was created - if I was importing kit from around the world to work my dogs in then I imagined others must be too so I thought I would do it all for you! This then developed to having some of our own products made up for you all to use of which I have lots more in the pipe line!
“Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart.”