Rugby dog walker opens play park for pooches

Abbie Weston was struggling with taking out more and more dogs, and had nowhere to let them off the lead safely so she decided to get a place herself.

“I always think it’s best to take dogs out in groups but I’ve only got so many hands and one pair of eyes and limited to the amount of dogs I can take out safely,” she said.

“So I wanted a secure area where I can take up to five dogs and they all have a run around and play with each other. I walk around so even the ones who want to be close to me get a walk.”

Abbie, who runs Rugby Woof Pack, managed to make an arrangement with a farmer to rent two paddocks in Lawford Heath, where the dogs can play off the lead as much as they like.

The 26 year old from Bilton gets immense joy from seeing the pooches enjoying the freedom, especially when they are not usually allowed off the lead for whatever reason.

“I have a greyhound which goes out with me twice a week who belongs to an elderly gentleman and he’s never been able to let him off the lead for 11 years,” she said.

“I took him to the paddock and he just went crazy, running around like an absolute lunatic, and it’s just so nice seeing as he never would have been able to do that before.”

Another benefit of the play park is that dogs learn social skills and those that may not like other dogs can become more friendly.

Owners have given Abbie some great feedback too, saying their pets come home after an hour and sleep for the rest of the day, getting up only to eat.

The owners also love seeing photos of their dogs on her Facebook page, as Abbie takes action shots of the dogs playing.

Abbie has big plans for her business with dreams of opening a doggie day care centre.

She is originally from rural Suffolk and used to work in an office but threw it all in to follow her passion for dogs.

Abbie started walking dogs about two years ago and has gone from strength to strength, with the play park a natural progression.

The entrepreneur hopes to put a swimming pool in the park in the summer, and a sensory garden for older dogs.

The next step is to kit out a van with state-of-the-art cages to take more pooches, but a day care centre is the long-term goal.

“It’s not so good in the winter when it’s miserable and rainy but you’re with dogs and they don’t care what the weather is like which makes it better,” she said.

For more information visit rugbywoofpack.co.uk.