Our story
I’ve always known how special the connection between humans and pets is, and how lucky we are to share our lives so closely with animals. It was no surprise then, that in 2019, along with my dog, Finnegan, and my husband, Jason, I ended up opening a pet shop with the aim of bringing the best products to the local cats & dogs of Tenterden High Street.
Pure Connection Pets was a long time in the making. I took my tentative first steps into a long and gradual career change from university management into messing about with dogs all day by first volunteering for the RSPCA in South Godstone in 2013. From there I went on to intensively study dog training and behaviour for three years, gaining a lot of practical experience by shadowing trainers and behaviourists and assisting and later instructing at Sevenoaks & District Dog Training Club. I became a qualified dog trainer with the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in 2017 and went on to see my own clients on both a 121 basis and with group classes. In the meantime, I also trained to become a small animal hydrotherapist, qualifying in 2016, and being lucky enough to work at the prestigious Greyfriars Rehabilitation Referral centre. I also then worked for a few more local centres until 2018 when I decided to go for my dream of opening a pet shop. We dipped our toe in the water by running Pure Connection Pets first as a market stall and then jumped right in once we found our perfect location.
The pet care industry has come a long way in the last 20 years, as has our understanding of pet nutrition & behaviour, particularly for dogs. Pure Connection Pets aims to bring you the best in food, treats, toys and accessories, making it a breeze for you to shop for your bestie. You’ll never find rawhide, nasty additives or poor quality ingredients in our food and treats and we always look for products that have excellent animal welfare credentials and sustainable manufacturing processes. We’re also a big fan of supporting other small businesses so you’ll often find lots of unique and beautiful products which have been created with love and care.