This week I had the pleasure of meeting Nicky, who opened Happy Paws, located in St Mary’s Walk, after being furloughed from her job during the first lockdown. Happy Paws is a pet shop offering food, treats, accessories and supplies for dogs, cats, small pets, hedgehogs and birds.
“Myself and my daughter were both working at Coral’s before Covid struck. My daughter’s disability, complex regional pain syndrome, means she gets very poorly when she has a flair up. This left her feeling guilty for letting her colleagues down every time she couldn’t work.
Thinking about the future
“During the first lockdown we were both furloughed. This gave us a bit of time to think about the future. We have a dog and have always bought his food from a certain supplier. I’ve been on at him for years to open a pet shop!
“Sitting in the garden one day I suddenly thought, why don’t we open a shop ourselves? I rang around a few friends who all agreed it was a great idea. That was on Sunday. On Monday I checked to see if there were any vacant shops, came to see this one the next day, and decided yep, I’m having it. It all happened very quickly.
“After giving the shop a lick of paint, I managed to organise our stock from my dog food supplier. We got shelving second hand from the closure of Laura Ashley in Eastbourne. The rest we have made ourselves out of flooring. We didn’t buy anything new.
Our regulars kept us going
“Not long after we opened, we went into a second lockdown. Luckily, we had built up enough regulars who were happy for their orders to be delivered. This really helped to keep us going. It just seems to keep getting better day by day. Pets are such a big part of many people’s lives now, more so since Covid.
Thank you, Nicky, for taking the time to speak with us. We’ll definitely be popping in for supplies soon.
Keep up with the latest from Happy Paws by following their Facebook page here