How do bookings work?

Every new walk starts with a free Meet & Greet. I'll meet you and your pet before confirming any booking — we'll go through care details, emergency contacts, and the contract. After that, you can book individual walks or set up a regular schedule. No commitment until you're happy.

What areas do you cover?

Okehampton is my base, and I cover Sticklepath, South Zeal, Belstone, and Sampford Courtenay. Favourite walking spots include Abbeyford Woods, Melon, Fatherford Lane, the golf-club fields, and river-play spots. Out of catchment? Just message — happy to chat about travel.

What's included in a walk?

Every walk includes games, enrichment, and river play where appropriate. Group walks are up to 6 dogs in varied locations or in a secure field at no extra cost. Solo walks for nervous, anxious, or reactive dogs get my full attention — limited slots.

Are you fully insured?

Yes — fully insured, DBS checked, and Canine First Aid trained. Happy to send you copies of insurance and certifications on request.

Do you walk in groups or solo?

Both. Group walks involve up to 6 dogs and are great for socialisation. Solo walks are reserved for nervous, anxious, or reactive dogs — I give them my full attention, plenty of space, and patience. Spaces for solo walks are very limited and lunch-time slots are usually not available.

Payment is either cash at the end of the week, or preferably via BACS — I send an invoice at the end of the month for the month we're on, due on the 30th.

What if I have a key safe or lockbox?

Just let me know if you're providing a key, have a lockbox, or anything different — I'll let myself in and lock back up when I leave. Your contract covers all key-handling details.

What's your cancellation policy?

[TBC — Sophie will confirm at client review.] In general, I try to be flexible — if you let me know with reasonable notice I can usually accommodate changes.

From the diary · 24 August 2026

Paws Beyond Borders — Pandas in China 🐼

A month living at the Chengdu panda sanctuary in November 2014 — cleaning enclosures, preparing bamboo, feeding "panda bread" through the bars and checking on the babies.

By Sophie · 3 min read

Chengdu, China — November 2014

For my second volunteering trip, there was one animal I knew I wanted to work with: pandas. So I booked a month-long volunteer placement in China and, in November 2014, found myself living at the panda sanctuary.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is dedicated to giant panda conservation, research and education. The Panda Base now has a professional volunteer programme focused largely on conservation education, including science interpretation, activities and visitor support. My experience in 2014 was much more hands-on with the pandas themselves.

We helped clean the enclosures, brought in and prepared bamboo, prepared food for the following day and fed the pandas what we called "panda bread" through the bars. We also got to check on the babies, which was obviously a pretty amazing part of the job!

I absolutely loved being so directly involved, getting stuck in and learning from the keepers. One of the keepers I worked with even told me he'd love for me to come back and work there again, which was such a lovely thing to hear.

When we weren't working, we had a really nice little routine. We lived at the sanctuary, so we'd explore in the evenings, have traditional Chinese food cooked for us, take Chinese lessons or just watch films together. At weekends, we'd head out and explore more of China, including visiting some of the beautiful traditional towns and streets.

I'd chosen China because of the pandas, but after a month I had fallen in love with so much more than that. I loved the people I met, the food, exploring somewhere so completely different and, most of all, getting to spend a whole month doing something I genuinely loved.