15/08/2025
**IMPORTANT**
Good evening,
We are writing this post in light of some recent unfortunate events. We believe completely in transparency with all our customers and so, we will disclose that a hole was identified today and a dog managed to get free from the field. The dog was luckily located quickly and is all okay. The hole in question was behind the bushes on the far side of the fence and has since been repaired.
It has also come to our attention, there has been some very negative comments about our field from some of the local dog walking community, and we think it is important to address any issues with our business.
1. Footing holes. During every evening inspection, we do try our best to fill in any identified holes and trying hard to stay on top of this. However, Heatherdene Hideaway is in a very natural setting, therefore, we do have a lot of wildlife that like to burrow and dig. In addition, some walkers do not stop their dogs from digging in the field.
2. Dog mess. We have put out countless posts to please supervise your dogs when in the field. When watched/followed, this makes identifying mess 10x easier to manage. We cannot disturb bookings during open hours to check the field for mess before the next booking is due. Although, any mess found after hours is cleared up.
3. Field integrity. Due to very active wildlife, holes can appear literally overnight. We are very fortunate of the fact we have very vigilant clients who are quick to notify us of any issues, so we can take the necessary steps to avoid incidents. In the time we have been open we have had very few issues in regard to the security of our field and we always try our best to mitigate any problems as quickly as we can. Issues do arise from time to time and it is important to express, your dogs should be supervised at all times.
4. Our attitude as a business. One particular hurtful comment that we came across is that we are “rude”. We find this most surprising, we always try to be as accommodating as possible. Although it says in our policies we don’t really allow moving/cancellations, we often do try to help our customers out. However, we are still a business, some reasons given to us aren’t always acceptable for “needing” to move a booking. In addition, it is important to also treat us with respect too, as well as a business, we are people as well. We will always try our best to help our customers out, however, it is important to treat people how you want to be treated.
In light of this event and wanting to further prevent any incidences, we are going to schedule some days to close the field for extended maintenance.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch with us, we would be happy to help with anything.
Thank you
