About Us
Barker Street Pet Services is a small team of pet care providers who are absolutely and totally devoted to animals. The business was started in 2018 by Rachael, after many years spent working with animals, with the aim of offering dog walking and cat sitting to animals who needed just a little more time and patience than others. Since the beginning Barker Street Pet Services has focused solely on giving exceptional care to animals with their unbreakable ethos being the promise to love every animal under their care just as much as they love their own. After 4 years of running the business alone, Barker Street Pet Services began their journey of expansion and focus on dog behaviour and training, by welcoming Sam, Vikki and Crystal onto their team. Barker Street Pet Services is more than just dog walking and behaviour, we are a team of qualified and experienced pet care providers who truly know and love animals, always striving for a better way to train, walk and care for our furry family members.
Rachael
Dog trainer, dog walker and business owner (Duns)
Hi I'm Rachael and I'm the animal lover behind Barker Street. I worked towards a career with animals from a really young age, volunteering in a cattery before and after school. I then went onto college to gain a level 3 distinction star qualification in Animal Care and Welfare and managed to secure my dream job working in an animal rescue centre. There, I learnt how to gain the love and trust from the most emotionally damaged animals and found my gift of understanding the unique voices of each and every dog and cat that I meet. After this rescue unfortunately had to close due to funding issues, I knew looking after animals was my true vocation in life and so I set up Barker Street Pet Services in 2018 to become a dog walker. Upon building my business I also worked for an out of hour and emergency veterinary hospital, where I was trained in animal CPR and first aid to a veterinary standard, as well as gaining a wealth of knowledge in veterinary care. Since then, my business has grown and so has my knowledge. I have been trained by the most unbelievable behaviourists, Vikki and Crystal, and pride myself on being a science led, force free dog trainer. After moving to The Scottish Borders in 2024 with my husband and our two furry rescue children, I embarked on broadening our dog walking and training clientele to my new local area, whilst my wonderful team continue working their socks off back in Leeds.
Sam
Dog walker (West Yorkshire)
Hi, my name is Sam and I joined the Barker Street team in October 2022. I have always loved animals, having a range of pets from dogs and cats to geckos and turtles. My current crew are my little Bear, a rescued Rottweiler, and a map turtle who is now 16!
Over the years I've had my experience with animals that require a bit more attention, care and love. My previous Rottweiler suffered with arthritis so it was important to make sure that he was fulfilled without overdoing exercise and when I was younger I had a disabled blind cat who came with all his own quirks. More recently I've had to work hard with Bear to overcome some anxiety and reactivity when out and about. He now has a best friend called Dennis the Vizla who joins us on walks and shares many smells with! It really has been so rewarding watch him transform into such a happy dog.
Working with animals is my vocation and after attending Askham Bryan College and leaving with a Distinction in Animal Care & Welfare, I then went onto Chester University and graduated with a degree in Animal Behaviour. Along the way I also picked up a Foundation Degree in Photography, which I use to take the best photos of your dogs!
Since starting with Barker Street I have loved meeting so many new friends and taking them on adventures!
Vikki
Canine Behaviour Advisor (West Yorkshire)
Hi I'm Vikki and I joined the Barker Street team in October 2023 after working with animals for 25 years. I had grown up surrounded by dogs as my dad was a big dog lover but I was discouraged from working with animals and initially chose a career in child care. However after I left home and rescued my first dog, Sasha, and a stray kitten called Tiggy, I decided to finally follow my dream. My very first job was taking care of the dogs in a boarding kennels but a period of work experience at a vets ignited my 12 year career as a full time Registered Veterinary Nurse. It was during this time that I worked with a nurse who had a diploma in canine behaviour and after assisting her with 'puppy parties' my interest in canine behaviour grew. Once I realised where my true vocation was, I began nursing part-time whilst I started my own business walking and home boarding dogs to gain experience in observing how dogs interacted with one another and their environment, all whilst also gaining qualifications in their training and behaviour. I went on to spend 8 years in total studying at university level, my highest qualification being a BSc (Hons) Canine Behaviour Management. Since gaining my qualifications and experience I have worked alongside other trainers within the veterinary practice in my journey as a Dog Training Instructor as well as continuing working as a Registered Veterinary Nurse and a Canine Behaviour Advisor. Now, I am offering my skills through Barker Street Pet Services to help even more dogs and their families within West Yorkshire.
Crystal
Dog Walker & Dog Trainer (West Yorkshire)
Hi I’m Crystal and I joined the team in April 2024. I have always been an animal lover and have had many pets over the years. My obsession with animals led to me studying for a BSc in Zoology at University and went on to complete a PhD in evolutionary biology. After a successful career in research, including in dog welfare, I decided that I wanted to have a more hands on role bettering the lives of our canine companions. This was partly inspired by less than perfect experiences with trainers when getting my beloved rescue dog Diggle.
Since then, I have emersed myself in positive reward-based training (and added another fur baby, Lola). I have worked as a professional dog trainer and am also undertaking a master’s in clinical animal behaviour. I love nothing more than seeing a dog having a great time out on walks. I honestly believe that by showing dogs kindness and building trust we allow them to live their best lives. I can’t wait to make new canine friends and give the puppies of all ages the best “double you-aay-ell-kays”.