Coronavirus: Update from Doggies Friend
We will continue to post here and on our Facebook page any changes we have to make as the situation evolves.
MONDAY 4TH JANUARY 2021 21:00PM
WE'RE STAYING OPEN TO CARE FOR YOUR DOGGIES DURING THE NATIONAL LOCKDOWN!
After the announcement from Boris this evening evening many of our customers will be wondering if we're staying open. Having consulted the guidance on businesses which can stay open, as published on the government website, I can confirm we are allowed to stay open.
The full guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home
As previously, please continue to follow the dog drop off and collection procedure detailed in your booking confirmation email and displayed at the centre. Please ensure to read this each time you make a booking as we continue to update it as the guidance changes.
Once again, a huge thank you to all our customers who have and will continue to support us.
MONDAY 4TH JANUARY 2021 11:00AM
We're still open and operating as normal during Tier 4 restrictions as we continue to follow government guidance which can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals
In short the guidance says:
In all tiers, you may leave your home to access animal boarding services.
Please take note that wearing a mask is now mandatory during drop off and collection as it is when entering any other public indoor premises
MONDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2020 10:00AM
We will be staying open to care for your doggies during the second lockdown for as long as we're able to.
We understand the importance of continuity for your dog and how it can affect their anxiety when returning after being away for a while. That is why we always recommend owners maintain regular sessions with us even when they are working from home.
Our online booking system is doing a great job of recording your dogs' attendance, meaning we can inform our customers quickly if one of our owners has been confirmed positive with COVID.
We would like to thank all our customers for complying with our COVID safety procedures during drop off and collection. Please continue to review the procedure for any changes by clicking the link in your booking confirmation email.
thank you for continuing to support us through this challenging time. We wish you all stay safe.
Wednesday 13th May 2020 22:00pm
DOGGIES' FRIEND IS DELIGHTED TO INFORM OUR CUSTOMERS THAT WE WILL BE REOPENING FROM MONDAY 18TH MAY FOR ALL EXISTING CUSTOMERS ONLY.
If you would like to book a place please do so on the Doggies Friend Website or via the app.
We have put strict procedures in place to maintain the safety of our staff and dog owners. All customers will be sent details in their booking confirmation (Please contact us if you don't receive yours).
Initially, to enable us to plan and manage the new COVID-19 safety procedure at the centre we request customers to plan ahead and book one week at a time.
Look forward to seeing you all soon.
Derrick and the Doggies Friend Team
Sunday 12th April 2020 8:00pm
We wanted to provide an update ahead of the next government announcement on whether the lockdown period would be extended. We are expecting a further announcement tomorrow.
We previously made the decision that we would close during the lockdown period to ensure the safety of our staff and customers. During the period we have developed a system that ensures social distancing can be maintained and at the same time we have sought clarity on whether we could legally open or not.
The response we had from the licencing department of the council, whilst written for dog walkers, does apply to our business. It also aligns with our own stance of only opening for dogs of essential workers, the vulnerable and those self isolating. You can find a copy of the guidance here.
We asked, and only the minority of our customers are essential workers. Because we are unable to offer collection and drop off service in a way that we feel is safe we were left with the difficult decision to remain close.
We fully expect the lockdown period to be extended tomorrow, however due to this forcing us into making a late decision to open on Tuesday, we have decided to confirm that we will close until at least 20th April, regardless of the government's decision.
One final note to say a special thanks to every one of our Doggies Friend Family.
We miss all of our doggies greatly. We hope we can all beat this thing and get back to normality as soon as possible.
Stay safe everyone.
Sunday 29th March 2020 2:00pm
Regretfully, we have decided that we will CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. We have contacted the council licencing department who issue the guidelines from which we operate to seek clarification. As we await the response it does not feel right to put anyone at risk.
We will continue to keep you all informed on Facebook and on our website www.doggiesfriend.co.uk as soon as we receive any updates.
Wishing all our customers all best over the coming weeks and hope to see you all soon.
Wednesday 25th March 2020 8:30pm
We have decided that we will be keeping the centre closed for the rest of the week while we continue to get clarity and advice.
Once again please bear with as we organise refunds for this week.
We would like to thank everyone for their kind words and support so far and hope to get back up and running as soon as we can.
Stay Safe and Keep Healthy.
Tuesday 24th March 2020 4:30pm
Following our announcement yesterday regarding Covid-19 we wanted to provide you with a further update.
We have elected to stay CLOSED TOMORROW (25th March) as we continue to understand what the government announcement regarding Covid-19 means to our business.
The government announcement prohibits all non-essential activity outside the home. Essential activity only includes;
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Shopping for basic necessities as infrequently as possible (food and medicine)
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One form of exercise per day
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Any medical need or to provide care or help to a vulnerable person
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Travelling to and from work but only when this absolutely cannot be done from home.
With this in mind, we feel the need for doggy day care for most falls into non-essential activity.
We are particularly mindful however that some of our customers work in the critical sector and may still require our services to enable them to carry on working.
That is why we are still urgently looking at ways we could continue to operate without putting our staff and customer’s at risk.
Some of the steps we are looking at or have already implemented include;
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Eliminating close contact between staff and customers
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Disinfecting all contact surfaces after each customer drop-off and pick-up
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Disinfecting all leads and collars before dog transfer
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Wearing surgical masks
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Hand washing or sanitisation
We would really appreciate if any customers that work in the critical sector could contact us and let us know if they still require our service. This will help us to make the right decisions regarding opening and procedures going forward.
Sectors deemed as critical can be found here.
More information on the government guidance for staying at home can be found here.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding at this difficult time.
Stay safe. Keep healthy.
Monday 23rd March 2019 10:30pm
Following the government announcement regarding the Coronavirus outbreak we are CLOSING TOMORROW (24th March) whilst we gather more information about what we need to do to ensure the health and safety of our staff and customers.
We understand that for many of you the service we provide is very important in providing a safe place for your dog to go whilst you work. In particular we want to continue to provide this service for key workers. Whilst we have already taken many steps to protect our staff and customers, we will be seeking further advice for what we need to do.
We will send out further communication tomorrow on whether we are able to open again on Wednesday.
We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused. We hope that you can stand by us through these difficult times.
Please note we will be offering refunds or credit for those customers booked tomorrow but please bear with us while we arrange this.