Julie and an important special guest at work. Click the photo or the upcoming  link to go to Dog Cast Radio, or visit Debbie’s website here (Debbie runs another pet-based show which Julie is a co-presenter on).

5: Can you say how you got involved with The Dog News Show?

I interviewed Debbie Connolly at Crufts in 2011 and we got on very well and made each other laugh. We stayed in touch and Debbie was a guest on DogCast Radio several times; she’s an expert on dogs and has trained and rescued them for thirty years. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience and a wicked sense of humour, and she’s very down to earth like me. Debbie had been looking for an opportunity to podcast but wanted a partner to co-host, when we met again at Crufts 2012 we had such a good time together, that when the issue of a joint podcast came up, we were both eager to go ahead and create it. The Dog News Show is a weekly podcast where Debbie and I discuss dog related news stories with candour and humour.  We have talked about everything from doggy marriages to very serious dog attacks; dangerous dogs and dog poo seem to come up a lot as well!

6: How does being a co-host differ from running your own show. Do you enjoy the experience more or less, or is it hard to compare?

The two podcasts I do are very different in style, as The Dog News Showis Debbie and me debating, while DogCast Radio is a magazine style show. I enjoy both. DogCast Radio enables me to meet and talk to a wide variety of people and I’ve learned a lot over the years. I write it and host it, do all the editing and decide on content so it’s very much my baby – although Anthony’s technical and IT knowledge makes up at least 50% of the show’s success. The Dog News Show is a collaboration, with Debbie and me choosing our own stories to highlight and talk about. It is lovely having someone I get on with so well and who makes me laugh so much, but who also has such an extensive knowledge of the dog world to work with.

What I love about podcasting is it’s so immediate – you record it, you may edit it, then you upload it and hey presto it’s out with the audience. Nobody interferes or tells you what you can or can’t do so it’s very free and flexible.

Dogs…smarter than you might at first think and more than worthy of their own radio show!

7: Lastly, what advice would you give to anyone out there who wants to start their own business venture like this? Are there are mistakes you made which you would urge others to avoid, for example?

One of my favourite inspirational quotes is “If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.” which Walt Disney said. I’m a great believer that you should try and achieve whatever you feel motivated to do; if necessary break it down into manageable steps – what can you go and do today that will take you a step close to your dream – and then get up and get going! It really doesn’t matter if other people think it’s sensible, as long as you believe it’s what you want to do.

I was very lucky that my husband and I had complimentary skills, and I think getting the right person to collaborate with is a big help, and via the Internet finding like-minded people to work with has never been easier.

Don’t be afraid to ask – I’ve been really surprised by the amount people I was braced for a rejection from who said yes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – I made loads! Once I did a lengthy breed profile with a lady in Australia only to discover I had recorded myself and not her! Luckily she graciously agreed to do the whole thing again. The trick is to learn from mistakes, then forget them and move onwards and upwards.

Julie, founder of Dog Cast Radio – visit the website now for all the exclusive goings-on!

1: How did Dog Cast Radio come about? What was the inspiration for it?

I waited until I was in my thirties to get my first dog, Buddy, because that was when the time was right; I was working from home and my daughter was old enough to understand that a dog was not a play thing, and must be respected. Once I got Buddy I would fall into conversation with other dog owners I met out walking their dog, and this would delay me. Eventually my husband got fed up with having to wait for me, and suggested we put my communication skills to good use. Anthony knew podcasting was about to become more popular (this was back in 2005) and so we united his technical knowledge with my ceaseless talking and enthusiasm for dogs, and DogCast Radio was born!

2: Can you fill us in on some of your most unusual stories?

We have had covered some quite unusual stories over the years – like the kick boxing Black Russian terrier. The dog’s owner was a martial arts trainer and noticed the terrier used his paws  on the back door  rather than barking when he wanted to go out to the toilet, so he developed this behaviour into kick boxing.

A listener called Sarah contacted us to say she had taught her Bichon Frise to sneeze on command, and I was so taken with the story that we ended up interviewing her, and putting video online of her dog doing his party piece.

We also had an interview with Sandy Hall who owned Gibson who was at that time the record holding tallest dog in the world. We also met the oldest dog in the world.

3: Would you like to say something to people about what it’s like to do something you really love? I’m sure this will seem like a dream job to many of the pet lovers reading this.

I love dogs and I love writing so to me I have the best job I possibly could. And it’s all thanks to my dog Buddy. It’s very rewarding to have a job that is so enjoyable, lets me set my own schedule and allows me to work from home and spend time with my dogs.

Hosting DogCast Radio and writing for dog magazines has enabled me to meet some wonderful people both in the UK and all around the world, that I would never had met otherwise.

I’ve been incredibly lucky, it’s been great fun and my favourite part is getting feedback from listeners and readers.

4: Anything else you’d like to say about your radio station? For example how it has grown and evolved and where you see the future of it going?

When we first started DogCast Radio podcasting was in it’s infancy and we had to explain to people what the term podcast meant. Now it’s more mainstream and also more respected and accepted. We have learned as we’ve gone along and being accepted as part of the wider media has been gratifying. The Internet empowers people and it’s been thrilling to be part of that – for example when there was widespread opposition to an advert that depicted a dog left out in the snow in an open doorless kennel, we made a Facebook page to provide a focus for complaints. The page attracted over 1,000 members in the first 24 hours, and the advert was changed in response. Of course, that campaign was just a part of a whole spectrum of animal welfare issues that we help support, and I’d like us to  support rescue dogs even more in the future.

One of the exciting things about new media is that nobody knows what the future is, but I’ll make the most of every opportunity that comes our way. I love sharing my enthusiasm for dogs with other dogs lovers, and knowing that I am improving life for some dogs. I recently got an email that made me cry from  a lady who said DogCast Radio had made her re-examine the way she treated her dogs, and she gives them far more time and attention now.

I want to continue talking to expert, authors, trainers, and fellow pet dog owners and spreading the word about how truly glorious the love of a dog is.

CONTINUED IN PART 2 HERE…

Click to read more about what we do!

For anyone who doesn’t quite buy into the whole Twitter thing — and we do understand, because we were a bit like this! — we have this message: Twitter can be amazing! Since we’ve been using it we’ve gained numerous new followers and had a lot of interest in both the blog and the Pets at Rest website (read about that in this blog post here).

In the coming weeks we’ll be featuring several businesses and services which we think our visitors will love, the first of which is Julie over at Dog Cast Radio, who has all kinds of interesting things to say.

So watch this space!

The coolest dog around? Maybe, maybe…

Here at Pets at Rest, we may spend nearly all our time creating the very best granite, marble and slate memorials, but that doesn’t mean we don’t keep an eye on what’s happening in the rest of the pet world! And one thing we have noticed more and more of in recent years is pets wearing funny clothes and looking a little bit silly, as well as a boom in online shops offering dog and cat costumes etc…not only that but pets wearing jewellery and all kinds of other items more commonly associated with catwalk models and A-List celebrities! (In fact, we could name a few cats and dogs which are probably more famous than some celebrities, but we won’t. We’re nice like that.)

Britain’s Got Talent was something different, however. We really enjoyed seeing a dog up on the big screen doing its stuff and putting the human competitors to shame! Exploitation? In this case, we don’t think so.

So, what’s the future of pets and jewellery and strange costumes? Good question, anything could happen (let’s just hope we don’t see anyone dressing a German Shepherd up in meat like Lady Gaga any time soon…not that the meat would last long, of course, but that is hardly the point!).

Click the picture to see some great deals…

Got an idea for a unique pet memorial? Well, just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean we can’t achieve it (don’t worry, the poetry stops there for now!). In fact, Pets at Rest specialises in the following things:

1) The finest photo-engraving known to cats, dogs, and even…scorpions? Yes, we said scorpions. We understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, and our urns and legacy pieces are designed for all of them.

2) Working with the customer on every order, to get it exactly right: that means we send you a proof before we start doing the work. A lot of companies don’t do this but we just think it makes perfect sense.

3) Affordable options: we stock a whole range of memorials for all budgets, so why not visit the site here and see what the fuss is about?

Click the logo to see our brand-new website!

We’d be the first to say that although we’ve been in the pet memorial industry for some time now, Twitter and social networking is slightly newer to us! We weren’t sure how our voyage into this aspect of the internet would go, but after a few weeks we’re pleased to say that we’ve had lots of lovely messages and kind re-tweets from people all over the globe.

We really do appreciate each and every one, so thankyou very much for the support!

Need a pet memorial? We cater for all kinds of pets, large and small; but this blog isn’t just about memorials, oh no…we’re also doing general interest blog posts like this one here, and soon we’ll be featuring other companies who we think are doing great things.

Thanks for now,

Team Pets at Rest

Yes, you are reading correctly!

Are you a new visitor to this blog? Well, if so then you may want to head on over to our new website — read the breaking news post here — and get an idea of what we’re about. Just a short blog this week, and this one is about all the various things we can do. A few examples are below:

1) memorials for cats and dogs in various stones! We can offer you amazing slate, the best Italian marble and all kinds of interesting formats. You can choose from square or rounded, upright or flat. Whatever you choose, we ensure the very best result by working through every stage with you.

2) memorials for horses, snakes, reptiles…you name it, we have probably done it! Got a question? You’ll more than likely find an answer to it on our website.

3) we’re not ONLY about memorials, we also write general-interest blog posts too and soon we’ll also be doing guest posts on some really interesting companies!

He may look slow, but do NOT be fooled!

Pets are amazing, and that’s exactly why we set-up our business: we were sick and tired of  seeing people make pet memorials (see the posts below for breaking news) that our pets wouldn’t have been happy with (in fact, we know a few dogs that would have barked their heads off for hours!).

Another thing which happens every week here at Pets at Rest is emails…emails which aren’t just about pet memorials, but about pets in general and all the amazing things they do and say (in their own special language, of course). Don’t get us wrong, we work as hard as anyone when it comes to our business, but we also like to have a bit of banter with our customers when we can as well!

Here’s 2 of the best recent emails we have had. And if you want to leave a comment about your pet experiences, please do below! Note: all names have been changed to protect the identity of pets and owners.

1) Deborah from Wales liked the way her tortoise — Terry the tortoise — would always run into the living room whenever the Eastenders theme-tune came on. It scared the dog (Harry) but made for good entertainment.

2) David from Staffordshire is always competing for the arm-chair in his reading-room with Sarah the Jack Russell. You’ll be familiar with tales of dogs and cats stealing owners’ seats, but this tale — and David was adamant about this — was particularly gripping. As gripping as a bestselling novel, maybe! Because every single time David tried to move Sarah from her seat, Sarah would give him a powerful stare, raise her eyebrows slightly and emit a low- dangerous-sounding growl which was a little bit scary. OK, so David was convinced she would never bite (and she definitely loved him, because she never left his side) but it still made David feel a little bit anxious sometimes. Still, he loves her anyway, and you have to, because pets are brilliant, even if they do steal your favourite seat.

Our new website just launched! And yes, we are EXCITED. Want to read about all the great changes we’ve made and all the innovative new products we’re making the bench-mark for quality pet-memorials? Then you just need to click here.

And now, allow us to take you on a journey…

Imagine a perfect world: think about something happening in the best possible way and it happens without any effort whatsoever, leading to the ideal result. Or, perhaps, when you order something online you know exactly what you are getting before you order, as isn’t always the case when buying some personalised products. In this perfect world, when you open that box up, there are no nasty surprises. Instead of saying “I wish they’d done this…” you smile and say, with more enthusiasm than you can ever remember having: “this is exactly what I wanted. They have done a fantastic job!”

Please click the photo to read our About Us page! And don't forget we have a special offer on now...quote NEWPAR25 on our website and you'll receive 25% off for an entire month...

OK, so a perfect world is a dream we all have, and in reality that’s never going to happen (well, at least not in our life-times!). But does that mean that when you order your pet memorial product it has to be difficult, dull, or an experience to get over quick rather than one to take time with and enjoy? We certainly don’t think so, which is why we’re all about doing the following things in a pro-active way that doesn’t cause you extra stress at a time which we know is already sensitive:

1: we’re all about going to great lengths to work with the customer on their pet memorial. OK, so we’re a business, but we don’t see why we can’t look after every customer’s individual needs. Here at Pets at Rest, careful thought and attention goes into every single order. And it is YOUR order, after all. We listen to you and what you want, and then we do our best to make it happen just as you envisaged. It may sound like a simple philosophy but we’re finding it really works!

2: we’re all about art and graphics, aesthetics and beauty. For some reason we can’t quite work out, for the last fifty years or so, the pet memorial industry has been much too stagnant for our liking: too few designs on offer, with the art-work often applied crudely in a way that we just can’t be doing with (we must stress that this isn’t always the case, it’s just that we feel there is a huge difference between art and just a product which anyone can make). Which is why the most careful care and attention is applied to all pet memorial products we take on. If you’re not happy then we’re not happy, and if that’s the case…why are we in business, exactly?

Interested in finding out more about how we can help you? Please click the photo for all the relevant information...

3: we’re all about giving our customers a wide range of choice. We can’t deny that it’d be easier to present merely a limited scope of options, but easier doesn’t always mean the best product, does it? With every memorial we do, we discuss with the customer how and where they want lettering placed, how big it should be and how much space the photograph of their beloved pet should take up. Better still, we don’t just produce the product without consulting the customer after we have finished laying out the initial design. We always seek the approval of the customer before production, and, that way, if they have any other suggestions to make we can change things before the piece is created by our expert craftspeople.

Any questions? Feel free to email us at info@petsatrest.co.uk

4: we’re all about personality and style, flow and smiles. We’re all about one-off products which you won’t find anywhere else, which are designed solely with your pet in mind — horse, cat, dog or pig. Basically, we like to think of Pets at Rest as a company which genuinely cares about the legacy we leave behind. It’s worked wonderfully for us so far, and, thanks to the new website – more products, better design and even a real-time Chat function – we’re confident that this will carry on well into the future!

AND, if you didn’t know yet, over at the new site we’re running a great new promotion…quote the special code NEWPAR25 and you’ll receive a 25% discount on anything for an entire month!

Before we leave you, don’t forget to read our latest post all about the new website. And, if you’re on Twitter and Facebook then so are we, so let’s connect and see where things take us.

Our great new website has just gone live! AND, did you know that we're running a special 25% off promotion? Click the picture to visit us now!

If you’ve visited the Pets at Rest website in the past couple of years, then hopefully you won’t have been disappointed: everything was in place so that new customers and returning customers alike could find what they wanted easily enough. As well as this, every aspect of our service was linked directly to the website – and this blog you’re reading now – so that you didn’t waste hours trying to find out costs or what we had to offer. We also started using Twitter and Facebook a lot more, and that has proved itself to be a great way to connect with people and keep everyone up-to-date with all our daily happenings – which is what it’s all about, don’t you think? We like the fact that you can contact us directly if you need to, and we feel that interacting with our customers makes for a much more personal service.

No, it's not a joke. YES that does say 20% off for returning customers!

Then again, here at Pets at Rest we don’t like to just sit around; we’re all about progression, and one of the best ways good progress is made is by listening closely to all the comments we get; we don’t think any business can do without it, really. So it was with this combination of feedback and a want to make the site even better for you, the customer, that a new and superior web-site was conceived. It’s been a long time coming, and now we can finally say that Pets at Rest has been born again – this time with an even greater emphasis on simplicity and customer service. After all, there are literally millions of confusing and boring websites out there, so when you come to us we want to make you feel perfectly at home in a friendly environment suitable for anyone, no matter what their level of computer literacy. Not to mention make it all easier so that what can be a sad and difficult occasion can be turned around into a worthwhile experience.

Oh, and don’t forget that we’re also doing a special promotion right now…quote NEWPAR25 on the site and you’ll receive an impressive 25% off anything for a month!

Great products. More choice than ever before. AND we'll work with you at every stage to ensure you're completely satisfied. Can you really blame us for being enthusiastic?

And now back to the improvements. Firstly, if you’re sick and tired of websites which have no email address (ours is info@petsatrest.co.uk) and designs which are too much hassle to navigate, you won’t need to worry about this with our new site. It’s clearer and simpler than the last version, at exactly the same address, and the format allows you to peruse all the options available to you within mere seconds. On top of that, we’ve added rapidly changing images on the Homepage so that within just a few moments you get a really good idea of what we can do. Another thing we’ve done is to add a real-time Chat function in the bottom right of the screen, as well as a latest products section on the bottom right (our white marble range is now even better, so that whatever kind of pet you’re looking to create a legacy for — horse, dog, cat or snake — you’ll be able to find something exactly suitable and within your budget). Additionally, we’ve enabled customers to sign up to our PR and News subscription service, which many people are doing, and which is getting them all the news as soon as it happens.

That’s not where it ends, of course, because behind the scenes of Pets at Rest our staff have been busily adding yet more products to the ever-expanding range (one which was great before but is now even better!). Now, within just a few minutes of visiting the website you can view Urns and multiple design ideas, so that by the time you’re ready to email us with your query, we’re all on the same page and looking forward to working together!