Two Petpals staff celebrate 10yr anniversaries

3rd January 2019

Happy Anniversary Jayne and Vicky

It’s celebration time at Petpals Darlington and Yarm where two members of staff are celebrating 10 year anniversaries.

Darlington pet care

The family-run business, founded by Sallyann Gray in 2007, employs 13 staff from their Darlington-based office, caring for approximately 300 dogs, 100+ cats and 20+ small animals a month, across Darlington and Yarm.

Loyal staff Jayne Gibson and Vicky Metcalfe have both recently clocked up a decade of caring for the region’s pets, while their owners are at work, on holiday or just need an extra pair of hands.

Dog walking and cat visits

Jayne, who was previously a hairdresser, now spends time in and out of the office, planning the walks and home visits across Yarm for the week, plus walking dogs every day.

Jayne says,

‘I’ve really enjoyed my 10 yrs working for Petpals. I truly love my job mainly because I love animals and every day is completely different. Sal is also a great employer.’

Commenting on Jayne, Sallyann said,

‘Jane is super flexible, always keen and incredibly positive. Nothing phases her, she just gets on with the job with a smile on her face.’

Darlington dog boarding

Vicky, who came from a kennel background now manages the 200 dog walks the company does across Darlington every week. She plans the walks, allocates staff, answers client enquiries and oversees the company’s online booking and management software. She also gets out of the office to walk the dogs on a daily basis too.

Vicky says,

‘It’s gone so quickly, it just doesn’t seem like ten years. It’s such a good team to work with and Sallyann is great, she makes it really easy for us and I feel so supported by her. I’m really lucky, even though I do some of the admin work which I enjoy, I’m still out with the dogs every day; I’ve got the best of both worlds.’

Sallyann says,

‘Vicky is very organised, committed and good with the other staff; she has always upheld the brand and is very proud of Petpals.’

Describing the importance of retaining staff Sallyann says,

‘Having long-term staff is so important to a business like Petpals. When you’re leaving your treasured pet in someone else’s hands, you want to know that their staff are trustworthy, reliable, responsible and experienced, in it for the ‘long haul’ not just a temporary job. Having staff who have been with us for this amount of time illustrates to our customers that we take being employers very seriously, we treat our staff well and in turn they stay with us and we know this gives our clients great peace of mind. We’d like to say a big thank you to Vicky and Jayne for being such fabulous employees we hope they’ll still be with us in another ten years time!’

The Northern Echo were kind enough to carry this story too: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17332521.pet-pals-darlington-women-thanked-for-ten-years-of-looking-after-furry-friends/

If you would like Petpals Darlington East to look after your pet you can contact them on: