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Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven Dog Sitting Local News

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The Barking Mad Summer of Love

We have had our very own summer of love taking place throughout Newark, Sherwood and Kesteven. Not quite like the original one that occurred during the summer of 1967 but one that saw a lot of love for the dogs enjoying their home from home boarding with our tremendous host families.

The reaction from some of our regular dogs when they have caught sight of their hosts has been priceless and the reaction to us when we have collected them from home has been an absolute privilege.

Milo is a regular Barking Mad customer who always has a smile when he visits Pod and Brenda for his doggy holiday:

1 Milo With Brenda Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Milo with Brenda

Pip started coming out on holiday with us this year and already gets excited when she sees her Barking Mad bag being packed for her stay. Here she is with Rose in South Witham:

2 Rose With Pip In South Witham Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Rose with Pip in South Witham

Bodhi from Bottesford also came out with us for the first time this summer and is already a firm favourite with hosts who all fell in love with his playful character and perfect manners:

3 Bodhi From Bottesford With Barbara In Croxton Kerrial Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Bodhi From Bottesford With Barbara In Croxton Kerrial

Maya from Grantham has been coming out on Barking Mad holidays for some time and enjoys finding her perfect spot to watch the world go by:

4 Maya From Grantham With Alison In Balderton Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Maya From Grantham With Alison In Balderton

We met Ronnie from Allington for the first time this year and he soon made himself at home with Marcie in Foston:

5 Ronnie From Allington With Marcie In Foston Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Ronnie From Allington With Marcie In Foston

Sid is a real character, full of fun and a perfect house guest. When we collect him from home we just open the back of the Barking Mad vehicle and in he jumps. Here he is demonstrating his leaps to Janine in Grantham:

6 Sid With Janine In Grantham Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Sid With Janine In Grantham

Barbara has lots of experience with gundog breeds and is always happy to spend time with Jess:

7 Jess With Barbara Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Jess With Barbara

Tigger from Newark is a Staffie cross Pug who was rescued by her owner and is such a happy and playful dog who enjoys spending time with Delia:

8 Tigger With Delia Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Tigger With Delia

Sylvia from Southwell joined us as a new host in Summer and enjoyed spending time walking with Hoolie:

9 Hoolie With Sylvia Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Hoolie With Sylvia

Sue is a long term Barking Mad host who was delighted to see Betty from North Muskham again:

10 Betty From North Muskham With Sue Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Betty From North Muskham

Archie from Bingham enjoyed his summer break with Debbie:

11 Archie From Bingham With Debbie Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Archie From Bingham With Debbie

And finally, we created our very own summer of love memory by getting married:

12 Our Wedding Barking Mad Dog Sitting Home Boarding Newark

Our Wedding

If you would like to discuss how we can help with your holiday dog care arrangements or if you would like to join us as a host family please let us know.

With very best wishes.

Mr and Mrs Murphy!

Allington Show Update

We had a super day at the Allington on the green show on Sunday the 8th July.

Our stand looked out onto the beautiful Allington Manor and with perfect weather, lots of classic cars and plenty of people popping by our stand with their dogs to say hello, we really enjoyed talking about our alternative to kennels home boarding service.

The icing on the cake was meeting a super dog loving couple who have decided they have time and space in their lives to join our Barking Mad Host Community. If you are missing a dog in your life and would like to discuss what it means to be a host, do please get in touch.

Allington Manor

Allington Manor

 

Allington Stand Newark

Allington Stand

Recent guests of Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood and Kesteven include Brodie from Aisby who stopped with Jo near Southwell:

Brodie from Aisby with Jo near Southwell

Brodie from Aisby with Jo near Southwell

 

Super Spaniel Bailey from Grantham with host Marcie in Foston:

Bailey from Grantham with host Marcie in Foston

Bailey from Grantham with host Marcie in Foston

 

Monty the Labrador from Castle Bytham in Long Bennington with Sue:

Monty from Castle Bytham with Sue of Long Bennington

Monty from Castle Bytham with Sue of Long Bennington

 

We will be back on the road on the 22nd July in Aisby, supporting the fun dog show and available to discuss all things Barking Mad. Hope to see you there!

 Find out more about Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven dog home boarding HERE

 

Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood and Kesteven – Show Season Update

Welcome to our long overdue update on all things Barking Mad in Newark, Sherwood and Kesteven.

We have had tremendous pleasure meeting new customers and their furry companions across the region and arranging our alternative to kennels home boarding services to meet the individual needs of all our special guests.

We have also welcomed some new Barking Mad hosts to the team: Barbara in Croxton Kerrial, Bob and Rose in South Witham, Jane in Langar, Sue in Grantham and Jan and Pete also based in Grantham. They are a terrific group of people who all have one thing in common: a love of dogs.

Our first outdoor show took place on a warm day in South Witham at the Village Hall Fete. We had the opportunity to talk to lots of people about our home boarding service as well as Bob and Rose who signed up as a Barking Mad host family when we met them at their beautiful South Witham home the following week.

Barking Mad Newark, Serwood & Kesteven dog sitting

South Witham Village Hall Fete

 

The following week we hit the road again to Sleaford. We set up at the Family Funfest and Fun Dog Show held in support of the Rainbow Stars. Rainbow Stars is a Lincolnshire support group for families with additional needs and we were delighted to provide sponsorship for the Fun Dog Show trophies.

Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven Dog sitting

Sleaford Family Funfest

In June we held one of our quarterly afternoon tea parties for our host families at the Ramada Hotel in Marston. As well as enjoying each other’s company and a fine selection of cakes, we also saw a fine competitive spirit at play in our dog themed quiz. We also donated raffle prizes which raised a tremendous £50 contribution to our Barking Mad chosen charity: Dogs for Good.

Dog sitting Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven

June Host Party

On the 17th June we joined the Great British Dog Walk organised by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. We had a fantastic walk through the grounds of Belvoir Castle in the Vale of Belvoir with our dogs Tinkerbell and Gordon who wore their bandanas with pride!

 

Dog Sitting Newark

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Great British Dog Walk

The following week we attended the Castle Bytham Summer Festival. What a beautiful village! We had a fantastic spot by the duck pond and the green which was used for the fun dog show. We met lots of dogs and chatted with many visitors about home boarding and dog holiday care.

Barking Mad Dog Sitting

Castle Bytham Summer Festival

During the last few months we have seen a significant increase in the amount of Trustpilot reviews received. They have all been 5-star reviews but we were really grateful for the one selected below which was left by a new customer located in Allington:

Above and beyond.

Above and beyond.
This was my first time using this type of service and it didn’t help that I had a nasty bug and was very poorly and not organised when Jacqui and Colin arrived. They were so very kind and were incredibly patient as I got all 3 of my dogs’ belongings together. I was stressing that my lab may not have enough food, Jacqui phoned me a short time later and told me that she was going to get some more of my labs food for me as she didn’t think there would be enough. I felt so relieved. It was so very kind of her, and of course, not her responsibility.
A short time later I received pictures of my dogs with their holiday home parents; they all looked happy and settled.
Upon return, my dogs had clearly bonded with Jacqui and Colin too; it was great to see. I have been very impressed with the whole set up, the depth of information they go into about your dog/s, their professionalism, and their very personable approach. They offer a fantastic service and I would highly recommend them. I have booked many more dates throughout the year; we can relax now knowing that our doggies are in good hands for our upcoming holidays.

 

A very warm start to July was marked by our day spent at the Grantham Dysart Park Family Fun Day and Fun Dog Show. The organisers did a fantastic job organising and running the day and we saw a tremendous turn out from Grantham’s dog lovers. We had fun watching the dogs taking advantage of the paddling pools provided to help keep them cool and we enjoyed catching up with other local dog related businesses.

Dog Sitting Barking Mad

Family Fund Day and Fun Dog Show Dysart Park Grantham

We have a couple of further events lined up and are looking forward to attending village shows in Allington and Aisby where Jacqui will be casting an expert eye on the fun dog show entries! More news to follow soon.

Colin and Jacqui

 Find out more about Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven dog home boarding HERE

Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood and Kesteven news March 2018

Where did the time go? Already into March and like most people, it feels like we have been competing with snow one minute and enjoying spring walks with the dogs the next.

It has been a busy start to the year for us. We have been welcoming new customers and hosts to our Barking Mad family and updating the all-important pet schedules for returning customers to ensure we maintain the best of home from home care for our doggie guests.

Our fundraising efforts for Dogs for Good will be given a boost in March as we look forward to returning to the Downtown Garden Centre in Grantham on Sunday the 25th March. Be sure to come and say hello and look out for Maggie the Mascot who will have a paw full of balloons ready to give away.

Dogs for good charity pack

Dogs for Good Fundraising Pack

We recently saw for ourselves some of the terrific work being undertaken by Dogs for Good in Newark when we had the pleasure of meeting Alice and Finn the Labrador who is a PAWS Family Dog.  Aimed at supporting children with autism, parents attend three one day workshops which starts with the basics of how to choose a puppy or dog and safely integrate it into the family, right through to teaching dogs’ easy tricks, which can help in a variety of ways. Just having a pet dog in the home can be incredibly beneficial, by providing an alternative focus and giving parents the opportunity to have a different relationship with their children because of the dog. Alice has kindly agreed to support our fund-raising efforts so please look out for further details soon.

We are looking forward to our next afternoon tea with our wonderful Barking Mad hosts. There may be one or two Easter eggs in sight and a quiz to keep us entertained during the afternoon. If you would like to talk to us about joining this special group of people, please let us know.

Finally, we received a welcomed surprise from our local paper The Grantham Journal this month when they told us that we had been the subject of a caricature created by local artist Terry Shelbourne. We will have the original with us at Downtown on the 25th so you can check out the likeness for yourself.

barking mad colin and Jaqui murphy newark sherwood and kesteven.

Caricature of ourselves. Don’t we look great?!

January News

By now the Christmas decorations should be safely stowed away and we are all looking at the least popular chocolates languishing in the bottom of the remaining tubs! Thoughts now turn to what 2018 might bring.

Dogs for Good

We are delighted to confirm that we will be supporting Dogs for Good as our chosen charity for the year. Everything you need to know about the tremendous work of the charity can be found in the link below:

Barking Mad Supports Dogs for Good

We were delighted that our local newspaper the Grantham Journal carried an article about the partnership. You can read the article by clicking on Grantham Journal .

We have a Virgin Money Giving page which can be accessed here:

Virgin Money Giving

2018 Diary Dates

Dates for your diary when we will be raising awareness of Barking Mad and holding fund raising events include:

A return to the Downtown Garden Centre on Sunday the 25th March to raise awareness of Barking Mad and to raise funds for Dogs for Good.

Dogs for good charity pack

Dogs for Good Fundraising Pack

On the 27th May we will be supporting the Sleaford Family Funfest Dog Show taking place at the Sleaford Rugby Club ground in aid of Rainbow Stars. We are sponsoring the dog show trophies and will have a stall on the day. If you are attending please come and say hello.

The Grantham Family Fun Day and Dog Show is being held on the 1st July in Dysart Park Grantham. We will be supporting the event and have a stall for the day.

Finally, we have been taking a number of bookings from new customers for half terms and summer holidays so please do get in touch soon to secure your dates.

Best wishes

Colin and Jacqui

 Find out more about Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven dog home boarding HERE

Update from the Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood and Kesteven weekend at the Grantham Downtown Garden Centre – December 2017

In our last dog blog we mentioned that we would be at the Grantham Downtown Garden Centre during the weekend of the 16/17th December. We had a fantastic time meeting Christmas dog loving shoppers with some of them even bringing in their dogs to say hello!

Barking Mad Newark at Downtown Garden Centre

Our Barking Mad Mascot ‘Maggie’ helping Jacqui at the Downtown Garden Centre

Maggie had a busy time helping entertain younger dog home boarding customers and handing out Barking Mad balloons. She also had plenty of opportunities to practice her high 5’s.

Barking Mad Newwark, Sherwood and Kesteven Dog Mascot

Maggie practising her high 5’s

We were also raising funds for the Dogs Trust over the weekend and thanks to the generosity of shoppers we were able to exceed our target of donating £150.

Find out more about Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven dog home boarding HERE

Winter News from Newark – December 2017

While everyone is busy making those last-minute preparations for the festive week, we would like to take the opportunity to wish all our terrific dog home boarding host families and customers a very merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.

We would also like to say a big thank you to everyone we have met and spoken to over the last few months who have made our journey to being absolutely Barking Mad such a positive experience. We have met some wonderful people and of course had the pleasure of meeting and taking care of the most adorable dogs.

Barking Mad Newark training day

Group photo taken during our week of training at Barking Mad HQ with Hayley, Sara, Michelle, Sam and Lee

Some highlights for us so far include meeting our hosts at the party held to wish Alex the very best of luck in her new adventures after handing over the franchise reigns to us after some very busy eight years. We still see Alex and can feedback that she is enjoying a well-deserved break in the company of Ruby Sausage.

We also took delivery of our Barking Mad vehicle which hopefully you may have noticed on the roads between Mansfield, Newark, Grantham and Sleaford.

Barking Mad dog sitting Newark car

All sign-written and raring to go

Once we hit the road we set about raising awareness of our service and letting people know we were up and running. We helpfully received some local press interest from the Grantham Journal.

Barking Mad dog sitting news in Grantham Journal

Spreading the word in the Grantham Journal about our new business

At the time of writing we are putting together the last-minute preparations for our host party taking place in Marston where we will be enjoying afternoon tea and swapping doggy stories. We will be holding regular get-togethers in 2018 and working hard to make sure our host community grows and continues to be friendly and fun!

Finally, during the weekend of the 16/17th December we will be at the Downtown Garden Centre near Grantham. Please do come and say hello if you are around. We will be raising funds for the Dogs Trust by offering home-made dog biscuits and having some fun with our mascot who will be touring the store handing out Barking Mad balloons.

Barking Mad Newwark dog boarding masoct

Come and see our Barking Mad mascot at the Downtown Garden Centre near Grantham on the 16th and 17th December

Barking Mad Newark home made biscuits

We will be raising funds for the Dogs Trust by offering home-made dog biscuits

Find out more about Barking Mad Newark, Sherwood & Kesteven dog home boarding HERE

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