Welcome! I’m Lucy Costello and together with my loyal companion, Millie, we run Happy Paws.
In 1999 I qualified as a Veterinary Nurse and then went on to work as a nurse at Battersea Dogs Home where I witnessed the desperate need domestic pets have for human companionship. Working with so many dogs and cats all living in kennels and cages with limited human interaction was what first created my ‘Happy Paws’ vision.

As my career progressed to Head Nurse at the Royal Veterinary College Equine Hospital and then Regional Manager at a large multi site Veterinary Group in London, I was fortunate enough to be able to take my beloved springer spaniel, Millie, to work with me.

However, on many occasions I had to travel or work in offices where Millie wasn’t welcome and so sought the services of a pet sitter. Having found a growing number of home boarding and dog walking companies I quickly realised that none were

able to offer the high level of care and attention that Millie was accustomed to. Even more worrying for me was the amount of people turning to a career in pet sitting in an attempt to escape the rat race and find a better work life balance for themselves – this did not instil me with confidence that they would have any aptitude for looking after my dog.

On further investigation I also discovered that there were no governing bodies for the UK pet sitting industry and that nobody was setting the standards except the pet sitters themselves! Coming from my line of work I couldn’t find anyone better qualified to set pet sitting standards or to judge who was suitable to look after my dog. It was this discovery that brought about the birth of Happy Paws.

I now use my skills, qualifications and experience to set the highest standards in the pet sitting industry and to select individual pet sitters who I know Millie would be happy to be looked after by – and sometimes she even helps me interview!

I also run home boarding from my own home in the rural West Berkshire countryside. I welcome dogs into my home for their countryside holiday with lovely walks in the woods, sunbathing in the large garden and cuddles in front of the TV in the evening!

I hope you find what you’re looking for on the website and if you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Lucy and Millie x