Welcome to Sunflower Cottage Dog Boarding and Pet Care

🐾 About Cassie

Cassie’s lifelong love of animals began in her family’s country pub, surrounded by dogs, cats, hamsters, and rabbits. She saved up in a piggy bank to buy her first pony, Cheddar George, for £90 in the 1980s—and never looked back. From her early days in the Beaufort Hunt Pony Club to grooming and riding across the UK and Europe, Cassie built a career steeped in animal care and equestrian expertise.

She worked as a groom from age 15 to 25, including event grooming at the Doddington Estate near Badminton, and travelled the world as a carriage groom in America, a show jumping/dressage groom in Austria and Italy, and a riding instructor at Camp America. She even sold custom-fitted riding hats for Patey of London in California. Cassie holds BHS Level 2 and PTT qualifications, and only stepped away from full-time grooming after a knee injury halted her BHSAI training in the late ’90s.

After a successful career in teaching, catering, and retail management, Cassie settled in East Devon in 2005 with her beloved miniature schnauzers, Robbie and Ruby. In 2015,

she launched her first pet care business, Pets Outdoors, offering dog walking and animal sitting services across the region. That same year, she became a licensed home boarder with East Devon District Council, gaining years of hands-on experience caring for dogs in a home setting.

In 2025, Cassie moved to Bere Alston in West Devon’s Tamar Valley and rebranded as Sunflower Cottage Pet Care, continuing her licensed boarding services from her charming village cottage. Now licensed with West Devon Borough Council, Cassie brings a wealth of experience, having seen just about everything in the world of dog boarding—from nervous first-timers to seasoned tail-waggers.

Cassie is CRB checked, fully insured, and licensed, and offers references and testimonials upon request. But she believes once you meet her—and Bud—you’ll see her genuine love for animals firsthand. You’re always welcome to pop by for a cuppa, meet the Minis, and see just how animal-mad she really is.