Paws for thought visits Anrich

Paws for thought...

Paws for thought visits Anrich Dog Grooming School in Wigan. In 2020 during lockdown, the operation decided to expand and has invested £70,000 in an extensive state-of the-art salon and training facility.

Anrich has been established for 35 years and its grooming training school offers courses based within the veterinary hospital environment. Alongside the school is a busy working salon with a team of five groomers offering quality grooms.

The new facilities include a purposebuilt separate bathing and drying room alongside a styling and working area with six grooming tables. The academy accommodates up to eight students at a time giving them plenty of individual tuition.

Managing director, James Weston, shares the operation’s journey:

We constantly strive to develop our courses to ensure students leave us fully equipped and confident. We have formulated a course that covers every aspect of dog grooming so students feel ready to start their new careers as soon as they finish the course.

We believe in hands on training as the best way to learn and our Elite model club has a huge variety of dogs of all breeds for students to work on and our groom standards are extremely high with attention to detail. You will leave us fully equipped to embark with confidence into one of the biggest growing industries in the UK. All our students go on to have successful and rewarding careers.

This is all very different from how we started - with one tutor and a small class of four students. Alongside it we had a small working salon with one groomer. We progressed rapidly and soon needed to build a more spacious school to accommodate two tutors and an assistant and a class of eight students.

One of our challenges was to expand and establish a larger client base and with time and effort we started to develop a bank of model dogs for the students to work on. We did this by offering quality grooms and also great customer service. All our team are not only great groomers but have had extensive training in customer service.

The high standard of grooming has meant we have kept a healthy client base which continues to grow. We developed an Elite model club of dogs of all breeds for the students to practice on and this means we can keep our course very hands-on and that students get the opportunity to work on a variety of different breeds.

We believe our success lies with the great team of tutors and groomers that have been with us for many years. As our client base expanded so did our small working salon with a team of three groomers which runs alongside our school.

A huge amount of work went into developing our website and promoting the dog grooming course. With the introduction of our presentations on animal health care and first aid and advice on how to run a dog grooming business, we went from strength to strength and this certainly enhanced the course.

As we are based within an animal hospital and referral centre our principal vet, Richard Weston covers animal health care with the students. We feel anyone embarking on a career as a dog groomer should have this knowledge as it is incredibly important in the world of grooming. We advise students on what equipment to buy and also how to maintain and look after it.

We feel we are offering a great package so that by the end of the five weeks students are confident enough to set out on their new career path. We have large numbers of success stories, great feedback and great reviews.

There is a huge demand for places, and students travel from all over the UK and even overseas to attend the course. We are continually improving our website and developing it. We now have a video so that students get to see what the course is all about. We also have a student log in facility and after care service to support students when the leave and start their new career.

All potential students are invited to visit us to see what our school is all about and we explain the course curriculum and discuss their plans for the future and give them as much advice as possible before they enrol on the course. They also get to see the school in action and get a feel for the place. This has proved very successful as we are passionate about what we do and what we offer. Our course curriculum is very well organised and we continually develop it so that students get the best possible training and support. We get students from all walks of life – from young people starting out and also a lot of more mature students wanting a change of career. Students go on to open salons or work from mobile vans or from home and we give lots of advice on running their business, whichever path they decide to take. We get a lot of recommendations, which reflects how successful past students have become. I think the greatest satisfaction comes from hearing our students’ success stories. We love to keep in touch with them and hear how things are developing and are always on hand with advice should they need it.

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Battersea Highlights Increase in Dogs with Cropped Ears

Leading animal rescue Battersea is calling on the Government to close loopholes in the law, as the charity revealed it saw a 200% increase in the number of dogs with cropped ears come through its gates in 2020.

Ear cropping has been banned in the UK since 2006 but there are no regulations on dogs being imported from overseas with cropped ears - something Battersea believes is normalising the horrifying mutilation and acting as a smokescreen for breeders and owners in the UK who continue this illegal practice.

Shaun Opperman, Veterinary Director at Battersea, said: “Ear cropping is a horribly painful procedure, usually done without anaesthesia, that involves cutting off the floppy part of a puppy’s ear. It can lead to lifelong welfare problems and infections – there really isn’t any medical reason to do it, it’s just a cosmetic operation.

“The type of dogs that Battersea takes in really holds up a mirror to society and reflects pet trends. Although the overall number of dogs with cropped ears is small in comparison to our entire intake, we’ve seen a sharp increase in these kinds of dogs coming in. We also know high-profile social media stars are often showing off their own pets with cropped ears- it may not be their intention, but it goes a long way to turning this into a trend and might encourage others to buy dogs with this mutilation.”

In 2016, Battersea took in just one dog with cropped ears. Four years later in 2020, the charity saw 12 dogs with mutilated ears coming through their gates, many of which had been imported from Eastern Europe. Battersea has now joined a host of major veterinary bodies and animal welfare organisations across the UK backing a petition for the Government to address the gaps in the law allowing the practice to continue.

In one case, Battersea took in a young Mongrel puppy named Blossom who came into the charity with one ear missing after what appeared to be a botched attempt at cropping. Blossom needed extensive medical treatment after developing a serious infection as the result of the procedure. Following 87 days in Battersea’s expert care, she went on to find a loving new home.

Ear cropping is often practised on guarding breeds such as Mastiffs and Dobermanns and involves removing

Blossom who came into the charity with one ear missing after what appeared to be a botched attempt at cropping.

the floppy part of a puppy’s ears in order to achieve a tougher and more intimidating appearance. However, these dogs are often more docile than their looks would suggest and can make incredibly loving family pets.

Shaun Opperman continued: “Even the smallest loophole in the law is too big when it comes to the pain and suffering dogs endure through ear cropping. We’re appealing to the Government to address this issue as a matter of urgency.”

To find out more about Battersea’s work, visit battersea.org.uk and to view the petition, visithttps://petition.parliament.uk/ petitions/574305.

Increase in Sentencing for Animal Cruelty

Battersea is urging the Government to avoid further delays on introducing five - year sentences for animal cruelty

Battersea has welcomed progress towards strengthening sentences for animal abusers after a longawaited change in legislation completed its passage through the House of Commons.

The leading animal welfare charity launched its campaign to increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years in prison in 2017. It has since gained universal support from over 60,000 members of the public and MPs across Parliament. The Bill first introduced to the House in February 2020 has now passed its Third Reading after a protracted delay.

Battersea’s Interim Chief Executive, Peter Laurie, said: “It’s encouraging to see real progress being made to make five-year sentences a reality. Now the Bill moves onto the House of Lords, I urge the Government to keep up the momentum and make this the law before the end of the current parliamentary term. Any further delays are unacceptable.”

Previous Bills to introduce the change in the law in England and Wales have suffered many delays and setbacks, including the last Government Bill which fell when Parliament was dissolved before the General Election in 2019. The proposal was brought back as a Private Member’s Bill by Chris Loder MP in February 2020, and his Bill passed the Committee stage earlier in February this year.

Peter continued: “Battersea will continue to stand up for innocent animals across the country no matter what. England and Wales have one of the lowest maximum sentences for animal cruelty crimes in the world at just six months – it’s the same sentence you would get for fly tipping or theft. It’s time we had a punishment to fit the crime and send out a clear message that we will not stand for this.”

Earlier this month, the owner of a dog left for dead in a river was fined just £80 after she admitted causing her pet unnecessary suffering in a Nottingham court case. Belgian Shepherd Bella - now in the care of the RSPCA - was found tied to a rock and thrown in the River Trent. Cases like this show the urgent need for stronger sentences for animal cruelty.

The Bill must now clear the same stages in the House of Lords before the end of the current parliamentary term in May to pass into law, or risk falling once again.

Battersea also campaigned successfully on this issue in Scotland. The Scottish Government passed the law to raise maximum sentences from 12 months to five years in July 2020, bringing the law north of the border in line with that in Northern Ireland.

For more information visit https:// notfunny.battersea.org.uk/.

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