A dog-owning accountant who pressed pause on his office career to open a pet shop during the Covid-19 pandemic is hoping to expand into grooming.
James Bygate, the owner of Dewkes of Mumbles, is one of three people in Swansea who have applied to the council to set up new dog ventures in the last week alone. Animal ownership has risen over the past year and many owners seem keen to go the extra mile for their pet.
Mr Bygate said canines were a hobby before he took the plunge and set up shop on Newton Road in January. Now he wants to use part of it, at the rear, for dog grooming.
"There's a huge amount of dogs which have come onto the market," said Mr Bygate, referring to the last 12 months or so. "More than that, there are a lot more hybrid-type breeds, like Cockapoos and Cavapoos, which don't moult in the same way regular breeds do. They tend to have thicker coats, and need grooming every six weeks or so."
The 35-year-old said pet owners were also more conscious of their dog's diet these days.
"They want natural food - to understand where it is sourced from, and what's in it. There's also a bit of a trend for raw feeding."
Mr Bygate said small to medium-sized breeds were prevalent in Mumbles.
"These dogs are thought of as members of the family, and are looked after as such."
He said the shop was doing well, and that an additional job would be created if the grooming venture was approved by council planning officers. Mr Bygate said a popular face in Dewkes was Duke, his three-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
"He's a proper softie - he loves the fuss," he added.
Meanwhile, dog trainer and Crufts winner Joe Honeyman is hoping to open a new dog day care centre at a large unit in Heol Y Gors, Townhill. He said dogs, after an initial assessment, could be collected from owners in the morning and then returned later in the day.
Mr Honeyman said they would be free to walk around, and wouldn't be kept in crates.
He added: "They would also have an individual pet pod to lie down in. And we have CCTV cameras so that owners can log in and look at their pets."
Mr Honeyman said various training sessions would also take place at the premises, which has an outdoor area. Security, he said, would be strict.
"We are living in an environment where dog theft has gone up by 700%," he said. "The price of dogs has rocketed. Two years ago you could have bought a French bulldog for £700 - you could be looking at £1,800 now. Ownership has gone up by 24% since the pandemic. A lot of people were directed to work from home, and took the opportunity to get a dog to keep their children occupied while they were working."
Mr Honeyman said dog ownership also gave people living on their own a responsibility, and a reason to get out of the house. The 62-year-old said dogs, like their owners, had been affected by the lockdowns and needed to socialise with other animals and humans.
"Dogs have suffered," he said. "That's going to cause psychological problems in the coming months and years. My pack of four dogs have become a little reticent when they see other people and other dogs, and they are well trained," he said.
If his planning application was approved by the council, Mr Honeyman said three full-time and up to six part-time jobs would be created. There would also be a shop and bistro on site.
Mr Honeyman reckoned his dogs, three of which were rescued, looked younger than their real age because of their raw food diet combined with plenty of exercise.
"For breakfast this morning they had fresh beef, lamb, chicken wing and sardine," he said. "I had a slice of toast."
Another canine venture being assessed by planning officers is a proposed grooming business to operate from Langland resident Benjamin Pritchard's garage. Mr Pritchard said on his application form that it would be part-time to start with and gradually build as demand increased.
