About me and my pets

My Name is Lucy French and I am originally from Dorset. I have always kept animals as pets and as well as dogs, cats and horses, I have also had rabbits and guinea pigs.

I have now been living and working in London since 2006. My passion has always been animals and working out in the great ‘outdoors’ and this is why I decided to leave a city office role many years ago. I cannot think of anything more enjoyable or fulfilling, and there is no better way to spend my time then looking after and caring for your wonderful pets.  I love horses and in my younger days studied at an agricultural college (Kingston Maurwood College) where my specialist area was in Horse management and care. I gained a National Certificate and Diploma in ‘Horse management’ and also gained two British Horse Society exams. i still own and ride a delightful horse called ‘Toffee.’

On to my wonderful dog training

I am a full member of MAPDT 01588, APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) positive reinforcement training. Along side this qualification, I have being completing additional courses, including ‘Leaning to talk Dog’ (Sarah whitehead) ‘Canine body language’ and a ‘Facial expression’ training. I also attend as many Continuing Professional Development (i.e. CPD) events as I can and I have completed the following amongst others; ‘Minds alike - dog aggression seminar,’ ‘Overcoming separation anxiety,’ ‘Dog & bone - Grisha Stewart- how to be human,’ ‘Training together behavioural course’ and I annually complete my Pet first aid course. (accredited) I love to learn all about our fantastic four legged members of the family. I am also a holder of Animal Activity Licence - Number - M053007 (home boarding licence)

My own amazing pets past and present

My first stunning dog was Ruby (Suluki), whom I adopted from a charity. A funny story related to her is that when I first adopted her, I thought she was very old….but she was in fact only 2 years old. Sadly Ruby passed away a few years ago. I currently own a gorgeous girl cat Willow, whom I rescued from the New Forest. She was found in a shed at 6 weeks old by some friends, and on a visit to see them, she came home with me as they could not keep her. Then onto James… James was an amazing little chihuahua. He was being given away as his elderly owner had passed away. James was 13 years old when we took him on and due to health issues, the vet told us at the time that he might only survive a few months. We ended up with him for a delightful 18 months. Onto our current dog Kia!… We adopted her from a local rescue charity. Her description on their site read “cute or what…but don’t be fooled….she is a little madam,” and she has certainly lived up to her reputation. She has been challenging but I cannot think of a more worthy candidate in terms of practising my dog training skills! This little dog was so scared and anxious when we took her on, (i.e. you would hear her before you saw her!!!) and not very trusting of humans. A year on she is starting to love the world, other dogs and people. It just goes to show what consistency, kindness and training can do. As you can guess, I am a massive fan of recusing animals as so many need homes.

On a final note, I take my responsibility of looking after the four-legged members of your family very seriously, as I know how special they are to you. It’s just wonderful when someone trusts you with their lovely pets. Now I have lots of wonderful dogs to look after which gives me great pleasure and satisfaction!!!

My beloved rescues