MyPetStop

It's recently been announced that the superstore pet care centre MyPetStop in Denton, Manchester may be forced to close before the end of this year.

MyPetStop offers high quality and personally tailored services such as boarding to lots of different pets such as cats, dogs, rabbits and birds, dog training, pet grooming, hydrotherapy swimming sessions and doggie day care. Mars Petcare owns MyPetStop as well as other successful animal related brands such as Pedigree, Whiskers, Sheba and Kitekat. They also own food brands such as Mars chocolate, Wrigley, Uncle Bens and Dolmio.

The news was announced on the mypetstop Facebook Page last week as a customer notice. The post revealed that "Staff at our Leeds and Manchester centres are currently in a period of consultation, as there is a proposal to close both centres by the end of 2012… All centres remain open at this time, but customers with future bookings that may be affected should contact their centre for more information. Once the consultation period is complete we will update customers on the outcome."

This revaluation has been most disturbing to me, as I have grown very fond of the Denton centre over the past few years. I was recommended MyPetStop by my friend Melanie for training activities (for my American Bulldog Frankie). She who owns a feisty British Bulldog called Menace (who features in their calendar as Mr. March). I subsequently attended their fun dog show and Olympics event with Frankie to view the centre and am still amazed by its facilities including a cafe and shop selling dog food, toys and clothes. Frankie was able to socialise with other dogs and amazed the crowds with her jumping abilities and we made many more friends such as Betty the beautiful British Bulldog, a mini-Frankie if you will and her owner Hannah.

MyPetStop Denton have run several popular events for the people of Manchester to raise funds for charities such as a Skydive, Doggy Olympics, a fun dog show and fashion show, Christmas party and Swimathon in aid of charities the Cinnamon Trust, Nowzad and the RSPCA. The centre helps many dogs with illnesses and injuries recover and train many dogs and their owners to enable them to live a more active and fulfilled life whilst providing personalised care and grooming which many feel is second to none. They even published a calendar this year featuring twelve of their loyal doggie customers.

I've watched the swimming and it has encouraged me to take my bulloxer, Chance to hydrotherapy as a safe form of exercise for his arthritic hips. I've seen the groomers in action and I been amazed by their skills. I've also viewed the kennels and cattery and decided that this was the only centre that I could possibly leave my precious 16 year old cat Yasmin who has to be medicated daily due to kidney and thyroid issues. She stayed with the centre for a week this year and returned looking amazing. The staff had clearly spent time grooming her and she even managed to put on some much needed weight. If I could afford to, I'd send all of my animals to this centre for all of the services that they offer. They really are first-class.

Customer Vikki Paul also feels strongly about the news. "It's an absolute travesty that this is being allowed to happen. My dog had a spinal bleed last year and was given a 50/50 chance of being able to walk again. When he started hydrotherapy he had no use of his back legs at all. Now he is walking around unaided. Lisa and the team at Denton saved his life and do so much good work."

Fellow customer reactions were immediate as many of the 1,543 fans expressed their sadness, shock, outrage, devastation and concern for their beloved pets and the staff who could be affected. Clare Chawia from Leigh in Greater Manchester commented. "Well if Manchester closes I'll be gutted… And I agree with many on here, staff are great there. What a shame." A Facebook Page entitled 'STOP the closure of Mypetstop Manchester' has been set up with over 126 people registering their support within the first five days of the page being live.

Mars have responded with a statement that outlines the current situation. “Mars Petcare owns three mypetstop Centres in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. We are proposing to close the businesses in Leeds and Manchester by the end of 2012.  It is proposed that the Newcastle site will remain open under new ownership. Staff are currently in a period of consultation.”

It's not clear exactly why Mars might want to close this popular centre. Rumours have been circulating amongst the current staff that the centre regularly makes a loss and has done so since it opened in 2003 due to it's high overhead costs. There have even been rumours of a management split with one managing director offering to take over the Washington Branch leaving Mars Petcare to find a new owner for the Leeds and Manchester branches or possibly make changes to the size, scale or format of this pet care venture.

The current financial climate could be having an impact on yet another otherwise successful business. People may be choosing to holiday in this country or at home rather than go abroad and pay the costs of boarding their pets,  (I found this a suitable alternative, this August). In a recession, people are forced to cut their spending and luxuries such as dog training, hydrotherapy and grooming may simply have to be forgotten. Even I have had to cut back on such expenses and I have a full-time job which pays relatively well in the grand scheme of things and no children to prioritise other than the fur babies. The location of the centre may also have an impact on the potential success of the centre, as it is located on the far East side of Greater Manchester, rather than the more lucrative Southern areas of the county. The marketing of the centre may have had an impact. Facebook has clearly been utilised as a tool for communicating the centre's activities and events but for those customers not on the blue book or even the web, how would they learn more about this centre? Emails and postal mail communications do not appear to have been forthcoming from MyPetStop possibly in an attempt to keep those overheads low.

Other local businesses could subsequently experience a rise in interest as customers of MyPetCare seek alternative solutions to their beloved animals needs. The staff currently working at MyPetCare must be feeling very vulnerable and insecure as this could lead to them being out of work just before Christmas time and so they may be seeking alternative work. The business may be sold onto a new owner who may or may not retain its current staff, structure and services. All we can do at this stage is speculate. All that is clear is that the business is changing. Whatever decisions are made during this this period of consultation, every customer, supporter and friend of MyPetStop Denton will be wishing everyone the best of luck as their future has suddenly been made so uncertain.

There may be no more social outings in Denton for Menace, Betty and Frankie but then again, they may be all celebrating Christmas together at another one of MyPetStops Christmas Parties. Let's hope for the best for every man, child and beast.