Crystal
A devil dog, and that is her own mother's word for her. She would far rather have her own company than yours and will not pretend otherwise. There is exactly one exception, and it is me.
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Hello, I'm Amber
I look after other people’s animals for a living, across Newton Abbot and the villages around it. Dogs, cats, horses, and most things with fur or feathers.
I have been doing it, one way or another, for most of my life. The business is new. The experience behind it is not.
Twenty years of horses
I have had horses of my own for twenty years, and I have three at the moment. They are the reason this business has pastures in the name rather than just paws.
Twenty years of your own horses teaches you things a course cannot. You know what a horse looks like when it is not quite right before you could explain why. You know that every yard does things differently and none of them think theirs is the odd one. And you know exactly what it feels like to want to book a holiday and realise you have nobody to leave them with. That is the problem I am now in a position to solve for somebody else.
Kennels, and what they taught me
Before this I worked in boarding kennels. Dozens of other people’s dogs, every one of them with their own routine, their own medication and their own opinion about everything. And owners at the end of it who wanted to know honestly how their dog had been.
It is where I learned to keep proper track of who has had what, to spot the dog who has gone quiet, and to tell an owner the truth rather than the comfortable version. It is also why I believe most animals do better in their own home than in a kennel, which is what this business is built on.
A houseful, always
There have always been animals in my house. Dogs and cats now, and over the years rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and rats as well.
That is not a boast, it is a practical point: very little that comes through the door is new to me. I know how fast a rabbit goes downhill when it stops eating. I know guinea pigs need their vegetables and somebody to talk at them. I know which small animals hide illness until it is nearly too late, because I have been the one who caught it in time and the one who very nearly did not.
Meet the family
The ones at home. The horses above are the other half of it, and between them they are why I am up at six whether I fancy it or not.
Skye
An overgrown, loveable loon. Whatever the question turns out to be, Skye's answer involves a ball and a great deal of enthusiasm, and she has never once been talked out of it.
Frankie and BeuBeu
They would both deny it. Then you find them on the same bed again, the cat looking thoroughly put upon and not moving an inch, and the dog delighted with himself.
Macinnes and Leo
Macinnes is the loveable old boy and Leo is the goofball. They come as a pair, and this is more or less where you will find them: out in the field, rugs on, watching somebody else do the work.
Roo
A rescue, and the definition of a moody mare. Unless there is food in it, and then the mood lifts on the spot and she could not care less who is carrying the bucket.
Where I am
I am based in Newton Abbot and I work across the Teignbridge villages. I have lived here all my life, so the lanes, the fields and which gates stick are not things I had to learn.
See the full list of areas I cover
The paperwork
- Twenty years with horses of my own
- Boarding kennel experience
- Trained in pet first aid
- DBS checked
- Fully insured with LRMS Insurance Services, FCA reference 303950
All of it is there to look at. Ask at the meet and greet and I will put the certificates in front of you rather than expecting you to take my word for it.
What I will not do
No injections, and nothing veterinary beyond keeping a proper eye on things and ringing your vet if something is not right. On the yard that also means no clipping and no plaiting.
I would far rather say no at the start than let somebody down halfway through a fortnight away. If I cannot do something properly, I will tell you, and usually I will know somebody who can.
Come and meet me
The consultation is free, it happens at your house, and there is no obligation at the end of it. Bring every question you have, including the awkward ones about keys, insurance and what happens if something goes wrong. Those are the ones worth asking, and I would think less of you for not asking them.
The chat on the contact page will book it for you, at a time you pick. It goes straight into my diary, so there is nothing to wait for.
Amber
Ready when you are
The chat on the contact page books straight into my diary, the free consultation included. I come to you, meet your animals, take down everything I need and answer your questions, and you decide afterwards. No charge either way.