Hawick farmhouse offering pooches a home away from home with dog hotel

Peter Hodgson moved into Scawmill Farmhouse at Wilton Dean in July.

Set in seven acres of land and just 15 minutes from the centre of Hawick, Peter, 55, semi-retired from the construction business, set about getting the place into shape.

After a few months he started to get a bit bored and began thinking of other things to do.

Then Peter, who has two Hungarian vizslas dogs, was asked by his sister to look after her two pooches.

He said: “I got the initial idea when my sister went away and I was looking after her dogs and I thought, why not get paid for doing this? I have had four operations on my back and if I sit still for too long my whole body seizes up, so walking the dogs helps and that’s one reason to take on some more. I don’t want to get into the business of building kennels, it’s more based around convenience in the home.”

Peter added: “There will be a very relaxed environment with no strict or fast rules, our dogs are pretty spoilt here and get up on the sofa and things like that. We have a dedicated dog room here, but the door is open into the lounge. I have been putting in a few security measures and fitting smoke alarms as part of the preparation. When you are dealing with other people’s pets you have to make sure you have every precaution in place.

“We do day care. I can pick up or drop off the dogs from 8am to 6pm and and also overnight care, based on 24 hours or weekly and fortnightly rates.

“We don’t do dog walking, we are purely day care or overnight boarding. They just become part of the family and do whatever our dogs get up to, they just become one of the pack. It’s pretty muddy around here right now and we will take them to Wilton Park when it’s like this, we are only five minutes from the start of the top end of the park.”

To find out more call 01450 375133.