Geoff & Karen have owned Farcroft since July 2012. We currently own 5 dogs of our own, a RottweilerXmastiff, A RottweilerXGerman Shephard, a Boerboel, a Mastiff cross & a Patterdale,  in the past we owned 3 cats and we also have 3 children. 

We took over Farcroft with one thing in mind, how we would like our own pets cared for. We will do our very best to adapt to suit our guests needs and continue to improve the facilities to make it more of a home from home and stress free experiance. We are very proud of what we have managed to change over the past 10 years (those who have been using Farcroft prior to 2012 can see the amount of work we have done) with work & more plans still on going.

The main difference from other kennels is there are many qualified full time and part time staff here to help clean, walk and play with the pets in our care. Most of the staff have started here as an apprentice then have been offered a full time job once qualified.  All dogs are walked twice per day around our 4 1/2 acres of fields which includes a small woodlands, there is also an all weather menage for off lead play and 2 gardens. We also offer an off site 1 hour extra walk at an additional cost with a member of staff so that the dogs know the person who is walking them. The cats are also given a chance to come out of their pens twice a day and all the catteries have pet rescue plug in's to help keep them calm with all pens equipped with cat scratchers and toys for enrichment.

Over the past 12 years we have built up a good relationship with the local vets in the area with some even using us to care for their own pets.

Farcroft has 28 kennels and 25 cat pens (8 brand new pens which were built to a very high standard in March 2017) Farcroft is licensed by Maldon Council who carry out annual inspections. We are also members of ALIKC where we attend annual kennel & cattery conferences. In 2019 & 2022 we achieved 5 star rating from Maldon Council for our kennels & catteries which is the highest rating you can achieve, which we are both very proud off.

Geoff is left a career in recruitment in London to purchase Farcroft, he holds his Level 3 in Canine Hydrotherapy, a Pet First Aid certificate and has completed a course in Canine Emotion and Cognition. He has just started a Learning, Motivation and Reinforement, understanding and working with canine behaviour which is a level 3 ofqual accredited qualification. He spends most of his time in the background at Farcroft making sure things run smoothly

Karen left her career in nursing to run Farcroft.She has 3 children and 4 dogs so is kept very busy. She works full time with the cats and dogs along side Natalie and does most of the bookings. Karen is also a qualified pet first aider. Karen holds a Level 3 Ofqual Accredited Dipolma in Professional Dog Day Care & Boarding and also a Level 3 Ofqual Accredited Diploma  in Feline, Behaviour,  Care & Welfare.

Natalie has just joined Farcroft March 2022 as part of the managerment team. Natalie has lots of experiance working with rescue dogs at a rescue centre and also has experiance working with small animals. She holds a level 3 ofqual accredited Diploma from Writtle College in Animal care. You will see Natalie a lot in reception as she books you in and out and she over see's all the pets care and staff supporting Karen. She is also a pet first aider. We are very pleased to have her leading the team.

Some of you may remember Paige from 2023 when she was a kennel assistant here. She left to open her own grooming salon but when the position of kennel manager come up, she decided she would like to come back as of Aug 2024. Paige comes with a wealth of experiance, working in different kennels and catteries and holds a level 3 ofgual accredited Diploma in Animal Managerment. She is also a pet 1st aider, has worked as a Animal Welfare Officer and is also a qualifed dog groomer. You will see her in reception a lot over the next few months as she learns her way around the computer side of things. We are pleased to have her back on our team.

Trudy is Geoff & Karen's daughter, She owns her two dogs Samba and Tia.  Trudy has been working at the kennels since July 2018 where she did weekend and school holiday cover. She has just completed her level 3 in Animal Welfare. She also helps Karen with the night checks and is learning the different roles quickly and has become a asset to the team. Trudy is also a pet first aider.

Zoe joined Farcroft in August 2022 as a full time member of the team. She has a level 3 diploma in Animal Welfare from Writtle collage & is also a pet first aider. Zoe owns a very naughty cat who keeps her on her toes when outside of work. She also works part time with exotic pets. She has become a natural with our guests. We are pleased to have her join our team.

Cerys has joined our team April 2022 as a part time assistant but since November 2023 and after completing her studies she is now a full time member of the team. She might be known to some of our customers as she has been doing work experiance with a local dog walker for her college course. She has  her level 3 Animal Managerment from Writtle college and is pet first aider. We are pleased she decided to stay full time with us.

Chloe Joined Farcroft in June 2024. She is a full time member of the team working with both the cats and dogs. She has 6 years experiance in kennels and holds a level 3 diploma in Animal Welfare from Writtle Collage. She has become a hit with many of our guests and we are very pleased to have her join our team.

Mia has joined the team as of Aug 2024. She holds a level 3 Ofqual Diploma in Animal Management from Writtle College. She has worked at a Rescue Center and also a Doggie Day Care Center but wanted to gain more experiance in the kennel side and work with cats. We are very pleased to have her join our team. 

Lauren done some work experiance here in March 2023. She then done some summer work here last Aug. A job opening come up and we offered her to come back. She joined the team full time in July 2024 and will be working school holidays in between attending university. She holds a level 3 diploma in Animal Welfare from Writtle Collage and we are very pleased to have her back on the team.

Tori started here at Farcroft in Feb 2023 as a weekend member of staff and school holidays.  Tori now holds a level 3 diploma in Animal Welfare and is now studying an extended course at Writtle College. Tori has a passion for Exotic animals and owns quite a few. She has fitted in nicely with the team and we are very pleased that she has joined us.