Paws for thought for new shop owner
Dog-loving grandparents Mark and Debbie Jordan have a double cause for celebration.
They have just opened their Paws & Treats pet shop in Middlesbrough’s Dundas Indoor Market and last month Debbie was told she was in remission after a cancer scare.
“The shop is ideal for me,” said 53-year-old Debbie who has worked in retail most of her adult life. “It will keep my mind busy and it will be great for my well-being.”
It also means the living room at the couple’s house in Ormesby will stop looking like a warehouse. It was used to store the pet food and treats, bowls and beds Mark delivered to customers when Paws & Treats was just a mobile business.
“We’d priced up a rental place for storage but the cost was ridiculous,” said Debbie. “Then, by chance, we were looking on the internet and saw that the Dundas had space available.”
The shop sells everything owners of small animals need to keep their pets fed and happy. “People were really pleased when they found out it was going to be a pet shop because there aren’t many around anymore,” she added.
Sixty-year-old Mark had a career in transport and distribution and ended up as an operations manager. “It was a very stressful job – 18 hours a day,” he said. So, for a complete change, Mark and Debbie started breeding basset hounds. Over nearly 10 years more than 100 puppies were born to four mums.
Mark learned to microchip his own animals and carry out pregnancy tests and around five years ago the couple stopped breeding puppies and launched Paws & Treats. Mark travels all round the Tees Valley helping owners keep their animals healthy and safe, whilst delivering tasty treats like pig’s ears and knuckle bones.
While he is on the road Debbie will use her experience of retail and knowledge of animals to support the pet owners of Middlesbrough, where it is estimated that one in three households has a dog.
The couple, who have three sons and five grand-children, are not scared of hard work and excited at opening their shop. “We’ve got a five-year plan to grow this and, at the end of that, possibly sell it as a growing concern and fly off into the sunset,” said Mark.
David Harris, the Dundas Indoor Market Manager, said: “It’s great to welcome another independent local business to the centre of Middlesbrough. We’ll give all the support Debbie needs and I am sure Paws & Treats is going to prove very popular with shoppers.”
He added: “I’m always happy to hear from people who are serious about becoming retailers or want to move an existing business to the Dundas. We provide an all-inclusive and affordable package to ensure that they don’t have to spend all the money they make on rent and bills.
“As well as Paws & Treats I’m looking forward to two other new traders opening up shops in the coming weeks.”