I’m Mel and the founder of MM Pet Therapy Services.
I’ve been married to Dave for 23 years and we have two teenage boys, Sam and Tom aged 17 and 18. Tom has just gone to University so my nest is half empty which is taking some adjusting to but he is loving university life so we are really happy.
Noodle is my therapy dog and he is a miniature golden doodle and is 8 years old. He is the most patient, sensitive, amazing dog and just seems to know what each and every child needs.
I have a huge passion for children and their communication. I used to own a franchise called Sing and Sign which is an amazing baby sign language programme which helps babies communicate before they can actually form words and speak. I had this business for 8 years before I sold it and it was amazing to see so many babies communicating using sign language instead of getting frustrated because they couldn’t say what they wanted or needed.
About 4 years ago, Noodle and I started volunteering through the charity, Pets as Therapy at a couple of primary schools where Noodle became a reading dog.
At one school, they used Noodle as a reward and if the children read lots at home, they got the chance to spend ½ hour reading to Noodle which worked wonders for the not-so-keen readers as they just desperately wanted to cuddle Noodle.
At the other school we went to, which was in quite a deprived area of Leeds, Noodle became more of an emotional support dog to those children that were having difficulties at home, for them just to cuddle and stroke Noodle made such a difference to their wellbeing and mental health and they looked forward to seeing him each week. We still volunteer at this school today.
That is why I decided to set up MM Pet Therapy Services. I thought if I combined sign language with pet therapy it would be a winning formula and would help benefit so many children, which it has. My business has grown from strength to strength over the last couple of years and we are in great demand.
If you feel your nursery or school could benefit from our services, please do not hesitate to contact me on the contact us button on the home page.
We look forward to working with you in the future.
Kind regards
Mel and Noodle