The History of Best Friends (formerly Gatley Pet Stores).  

Gatley Pets was owned by the late Derek Hill. Pam first met Derek in 1986 when he and his business partner Carl took over Gatley Pets where she was working. They kept her on and she worked for them for several years. In this time they polished up her dog grooming skill and introduced her to the world of show dogs, giving Pam her first Bichon Frise for her 18th birthday. They  encouraged her to explore her love of training dogs and in 1991 Derek convinced Pam to spread her wings and she started her own pet shop and grooming salon.  

Derek continued to be a mentor and friend to Pam and they often traveled to dog shows together, when Pam sold her shop to start a family she went back to grooming for Derek part time.  Pam went on to train as a teacher a for an animal care college specialising in dog training, animal care and dog grooming, which she still does now.  

Pam has changed the name of the shop as she won’t be selling pets, she has strong feelings that pets should not be purchased on impulse, and already running Best Friends Dog Training it made sense to amalgamate the training grooming and pet supplies.  It is also a fitting tribute to Derek who was one of Pam’s best friends.