The year 2020 has finished…………………..
So, as 2020 is no more, I thought it was as good a time as any to look back and reflect on what it has meant to Drum.
The start of the year was a good one. We took lots of bookings for the year and we welcomed old faces and some new faces to Drum.
But there were rumblings around the world about a new virus COVID-19. We weren’t sure what this was going to mean to us there than some peoples holidays abroad we being questioned.
Then it hit! A complete country lockdown was brought in and other countries were doing the same. So the phone started to ring again but this time customers were having to cancel their holidays and plans to visit friends and family throughout the country.
At first, I have to admit, we were all pretty stunned but then I saw that it was an opportunity to get things done around the kennels and cattery that we had been planning for years and never had the time to complete.
So we deep cleaned, painted the kennels, cleared cupboards and sheds and painted sheds and then painted even more!! We installed hand sanitiser points and drew up a procedure for taking in dogs and cats that would keep us and our customers safe.
We planted colourful flowers to greet our customers when they returned and all in all had a pretty good time in the glorious weather.
Also, sadly, we have lost some of our lovely old dog and cat boarders that have come to the end of their lives. This news always makes us sad as we treat them as our own when they are in our care and we grow to love them like our own.
But what we didn’t plan for or even expect, was that the pandemic wasn’t getting any better. In fact it was getting worse in many areas.
So once again, after a very short reprieve, bookings were cancelled and a second lockdown was introduced.
We painted one cattery block this time!
We have had a few customers over Christmas but nothing like the amount we have seen in past years.
So, we were now looking forward to 2021 with the hope that we can see some return to normality for us all. We want our customers to be able to go and visit family and friends, to go on holiday again and we want to welcome back our lovely dog and cat boarders that have become true friends over the years. But not quite yet.......... another lockdown announced. We are still open, you can board your cat or dog(s) if you need to leave your home for one of the permitted reasons such as a medical appointment, work (where you cannot work from home) and other reasons as set out by the government. We have one such a customer who is a key worker who drops her dogs off for day boarding when she heads off to work. For her, us being open is a life line and we are glad we can do our ‘bit’.
For now, we would like to wish all our customers old and new a very happy and healthy New Year.
With love from myself and the team. Morag.
