Pet boutique founder is enjoying change of career

DOG-LOVER Gillian Stewart’s career couldn’t be any more different than it used to be.

For years she worked for a crime reduction charity, spending much of her time with young offenders and homeless youths, but, after Government cuts made her job insecure, she decided to go for a complete change and launch her dream business.

“I did enjoy my job, although it was very stressful – I had very little time off and my friends worried about my safety,” said Gillian.

“I had always wanted to run a dog specialist shop and years ago, before many online shops, I had to save up and go to Crufts dog show to get all my luxury dog things.

“When online shopping got more popular, I started to get stuff this way too, but you can’t see or feel the quality or try it on your dog!

“I wanted to own a shop that sold great quality dog items, healthy foods and all the lovely things that are so hard to find apart from online.”

So Gillian set up Oh My Dog!, her own pet boutique on Chester Street, Saltney, specialising in dogs.

“I had no business plan, just a little savings from my job, and only some experience of working in a shop,” she said.

“It took myself and some very good friends a few months to make the shop useable but on July 25, 2011, I opened the shop for the first time.

“I’ve loved every minute of running my own business and had some amazing, friendly regulars.”

It wasn’t easy because at first Gillian had decided to budget by not taking a profit from the shop.

She added: “I remember during my first Christmas, a friend who owns a London-based dog boutique telling me how many hundreds of pounds they spent on the Christmas window display.

“I had just been to the local pound shop and mine looked just as lovely. As I went outside and stood in the light snowfall of that evening, I had a tear in my eye.

“Things went from strength to strength and within nine months I had outgrown my little shop!”

So Gillian moved Oh My Dog!’s premises to Kingsway and the shop’s been going from strength to strength ever since.

“I really hope to encourage other women to bite the bullet and to do what they love,” said Gillian.

“I’ve made mistakes and I have found it very hard sometimes, but I have also learned that just because you are struggling doesn’t mean you are failing.”