A rescue-friendly doggy day care centre has set its sights on helping more animals than ever after its windows were “smashed to pieces” by burglars just months after opening.
Honeyz Dog Day Care Centre has made a speedy recovery after being caught in a spate of thefts and burglaries that shook the market town of Framlingham in January.
The new business, based in Peppers Wash, was one of seven places targeted by thieves within 24 hours, running from Sunday, January 27 through to Monday, January 28.
Owner Hollie Coe, whose golden retriever Honey inspired the business, said the day care centre had been “ripped apart” by burglars apparently searching for money.
“Once we got through the gates, the bolt had been cut off,” she said.
“It was obvious that there had been a burglary because all the doors were just smashed to pieces, literally ripped apart because they had ripped their way in.
“Everything on the desk was rummaged around, because they had obviously gone through trying to find money – but luckily they didn’t find anything.
“It was just a mess – it just took a while to clean up. I was lucky enough to have my dad on hand to get everything fixed.
“We opened a day later, all ready to go. We won’t be defeated.”
While the staff put on a brave face for the business, Miss Coe said the shock did affect them – especially since Honeyz only opened in late November.
“I did have a bit of a cry to be honest, because that was quite a shock,” she said.
“It took quite a lot of work to get this up and running because obviously it’s been built from scratch. So that was quite hurtful and it was a bit hard to come in the next day as well.
“We’re all right. The dogs sort of helped!”
Honeyz’s unique selling point is that it caters especially for rescue dogs who might be nervous in normal day care settings.
“We only take eight dogs maximum a day so it’s a much more relaxed environment, not like other centres when they have 30 dogs in a room together,” Miss Coe explained.
“We always have a door open so they can roam inside and outside as they please. We also have extensive training so we know how best to handle the dogs and have a good staff to dog ratio which means they are able to have all the attention they desire.
“We named the business Honeyz after my golden retriever honey who will be 14 this year.
“We started off as a grooming business then we expanded to walking and training and then recently took the leap into doggy day care.
“We are currently based in a log cabin type building as we are having a bespoke centre built for us.”
Anybody with information about the burglary at Honeyz should call Suffolk police on 101, quoting reference number 37/5459/19.
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