muddy paws arran
Many readers will now be aware of seeing the Muddy Paws van as it goes about its daily routine. We asked owners, Stacey and Trish to tell us a little more about how their business operates.
Stacey explained how the dogs are transported in the specially adapted van, which has 4 spacious cages in the rear, ensuring the dogs feel secure and have their own space. There is also a large area in front of this for the largest breeds, so everyone has plenty space.
Once the dogs have been collected from home its then off to various locations across the island - usually forestry paths, to give the dogs as much freedom as possible, well away from public roads. They are walked for a minimum of 1 hour, and then returned home, at a cost of £8.00 per dog per hour.
With an ever increasing number of dogs on Arran, there are all sorts of people using Muddy Paws. Some, because of work commitments, or poor health which means they feel they aren’t able to give their pets as much exercise as they need. Others are keen for their dogs to interact with other dogs to improve socialisation, and some just use the service when having a day on the mainland, or are attending a hospital appointment and can’t take their dog with them.
However, all the dogs have one thing in common .... they love their walks with Muddy Paws, and both girls agree that the best part of the job is seeing how excited the dogs are when they go to pick them up. Often, they are aware of the vans arrival before the owners are!
And it’s a mixed bag of canine clients. “All shapes and sizes” says Trish. There are Labradors, collies, cockapoos, beagles, an English bulldog, a miniature schnauzer. The smallest is a chihuahua x poodle, the largest are German pointers. And no, the little ones aren’t always the easiest!! The Muddy Paws gang is ever increasing and they are always looking forward to welcoming new four pawed friends to the their fun filled walks, so if you feel your pup could benefit from a Muddy Paws walk please just give Stacey or Trish a call.