Puppy Welfare
At the heart of our mission is the welfare of the puppies. Every puppy that enrols on our socialisation programme and is brought to a puppy therapy event, has been sourced from our ethical and reputable breeder partners who share our commitment to responsible breeding and puppy socialisation.
When attendees participate in a Paws in Work puppy therapy event, they can have peace of mind, knowing that the wellbeing of our pups will always remain our number one priority.
Licence & Insurance.
We are proud to be the first and only fully licenced puppy therapy specialists in the UK, our dedication to the wellbeing and safety of the puppies we work with sets us apart. Our licence means we have been thoroughly vetted and inspected by a government body and continue to adhere to strict guidelines across a range of animal welfare laws and regulations.
As well as being licenced, we also have the highest level of insurance for our puppy therapy events. This includes Public Liability insurance, Transport insurance and full comprehensive coverage for our puppies to ensure our events are covered to the finest detail.
Insurance for our puppies covers puppies from the second we collect them at their homes for our events, until weeks after they have graduated our programme. This insurance ensures that the puppies are protected in unforeseen circumstances, offering peace of mind for their owners, plus anyone that attends a puppy therapy session.
The Puppies Welfare.
One of the many questions we get asked is “Where do we get the puppies from?” It’s a great question. First things first, we do not own the puppies, nor do we have any involvement in the breeding or selling process.
“We work alongside ethical and reputable breeder partners who share the same commitment to ethical breeding and the importance of early socialisation.”
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The puppies that join us at our events are in the period between birth and moving onto their forever homes. The puppies are collected in the morning, in our specialist puppy vehicle and returned home in the afternoon after their day of fun - we like to think of ourselves as a puppy daycare with the added bonus of socialisation.
We have a specific Puppy Welfare team that works closely with our breeder partners, ensuring that any new potential partners meet strict criteria through extensive welfare checks. They must also satisfy our licensing and insurance requirements, in order to qualify.
You can find out more about our Puppy Welfare team and our breeder partners here.
Facilitating Our Events.
So how exactly do we facilitate a Paws in Work puppy therapy event and ensure the puppies remain the number one priority at all times?
With a team of over 25, it’s no secret that it takes an army to run our sessions as smoothly as we do.
Everything has been specifically designed to ensure the puppies' safety as well as their development, from the moment a Bitch is pregnant (sometimes even before) until they are settled into their new forever home.
The puppies we work with travel in a speciality-adapted puppy vehicle to our puppy therapy events. They are equipped with a variety of features to ensure they travel in the safest and most comfortable way possible; from A/C units, heating systems, and calming blue lights in their crates. There is always at least one Paws in Work staff member in the back, monitoring their behaviour during the journey to and from the event.
Our enclosed set-up at our puppy therapy events has been specifically designed with the puppies’ safety in mind. Our main ‘summer garden’ is set up in a private room (away from the hustle and bustle of many offices) with 2 separate areas for the pups to retreat to in between sessions. Busy staff are encouraged to take time away from their desks to come and join our puppy therapy sessions and help socialise our gorgeous litter of puppies.
Keeping Puppies Safe.
We have a multitude of teams within the company that help facilitate our events, working closely together to ensure the puppies' safety before, during and after their time with us. We are constantly developing how we deliver our puppy therapy events, all aimed to ‘create a better life for people and pups’.
To ensure a suitable environment for the puppies, our operations team will conduct a risk assessment at the event space prior to the event. This will include elements such as being able to manage temperature, having access to water and so much more.
Due to the age of the puppies we work with, we follow a very strict cleaning process to ensure the puppies are kept safe. We use puppy-safe products as used by Vets, to ensure the highest level of cleanliness. Our equipment is disinfected at each and every event, with a deeper clean taking place before working with a new litter to eliminate the risk of puppies contracting any nasty infections or diseases.
Keeping Your Staff Safe.
Before all puppy therapy sessions, attendees are given a full health and safety briefing by a Paws in Work member of staff to ensure they understand our health and safety rules and how to correctly handle the litter of puppies.
During our puppy therapy sessions, attendees are asked to remove their shoes, sanitise their hands, place a blanket over their clothing and remain seated at all times to ensure the puppies' safety and minimise any risks. We have a minimum of 3 members of staff present at all times, constantly monitoring the litter whilst educating attendees on the breed characteristics, ethical breeding and the importance of early socialisation.
All staff are Pet First Aid trained and have completed at least a Level 2 in Principles of Puppy Socialisation, as well as holding many other animal-related qualifications.
