Meet The Team
All members of the Bridge House Kennels team are hands on in the day to day running of the kennels and will get to know your dog, having some involvement in their care during their stay.
Owners
Marita & Phil
Marita and Phil purchased Bridge House Boarding Kennels in December 2000.
Marita was born into the world of dogs, with her parents showing dogs and owning a boarding kennels. Marita is famous worldwide with her dogs for winning Best in Show at Crufts not once but twice, first with her Afghan Champion Montravia Kaskarak Hitari and then two years later with her Standard Poodle Champion Montravia Tommy Gun.
Phil has owned boarding kennels since 1988 and has been showing dogs successfully for over 40 years, achieving the accolade of top Basset Hound breeder in the UK for the last 29 consecutive years.
Being together since 1999 Marita and Phil enjoy the boarding kennels and are very much hands on with the day to day running of things. Their extensive knowledge gained in dogs from over the years have enabled them to establish their kennels as the 5-star awarded business it is today.
Combined with continuing to show their dogs at the highest level, Marita and Phil also enjoy judging various breeds at championship shows in the UK, including Crufts and shows around the world.
Sarah
Sarah had always wanted to work with animals since she was young and studied Animal Science at university. She came to work at Bridge House Kennels in 2006 and found she had a natural rapport with the dogs. Supported by Phil and Marita she has continued her studies whilst working here and is now a Master Trainer with The Guild of Dog Trainers, specialising in puppies but has vast knowledge in all forms of training and behaviour.
Sarah has Welsh Springer Spaniels which she shows, has done agility, heelwork to music and gundog work with.
Most recently Sarah has completed her MSc in Animal Manipulation and has started her own business as a McTimoney Animal Chiropractor which she runs onsite in her purpose-built therapy room, alongside managing the boarding kennels. She is also about to complete her Canine Nutrition qualification so she can add this to her business also.
Sarah is our on-site fully qualified Canine First Aider. Sarah loves spending her time with and learning from all the different dogs she has in her care each and every day.
Mollie
Mollie joined our team in September 2022, becoming our first apprentice.
She completed her level 2 in Animal Care and Welfare with distinction in November 2023 and continues to be an important part of the team.
Mollie has always wanted to work with dogs and enjoys meeting and looking after all those in her care. She specialises in making those dogs who are a bit shy to begin with and young puppies feel settled and happy by spending quality time with them to enjoy their stay with us.
Izzy
Izzy started working with dogs whilst still at college and joined our team towards the end of 2023. Since being here Izzy has expanded on her knowledge and has completed level 3 in canine care, behaviour and welfare. She has established herself as an integral part of our team. She thoroughly enjoys looking after both our show dogs and the dogs here for boarding and is keen to keep learning and developing in all aspects of canine care.