New dog hotel is opening in Northamptonshire...especially for sausage dogs

A businesswoman who discovered happiness thanks to her sausage dog Mr Blue has now set up a four-star dog hotel inspired by her beloved pet

Adele Taylor received her official licence for the Sausage Dog Lodge in Braunston last month and was immediately given the highest rating a new business can achieve.

The story of how the lodge came about is one of finding inspiration after years of heartbreak and trauma.

Adele, now 36, chose a career working with young children after leaving school and worked her way up to being a highly-qualified nursery manager.

"All I ever wanted to be was a mum. However, I also sadly suffered from multiple recurrent miscarriages. The sadness took over my whole life for so many years. There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed. Others, I just wanted to keep walking forever with my cocker spaniel Sally, to get away from the feelings of sadness and failure that took over my whole world," she said.

"I loved my job and cared so much for all the children I had the pleasure of teaching throughout those years, but most days when I got home I would bury my face in Sally’s warm fur and cry. It changed who I was as a person, I lost my smile behind the sadness, I lost my marriage and my life came crashing down.

"Sally was there for me through it all, by my side. In time I met a new partner, he met Sally’s approval. He tried everything to make me happy, he was there for me in my darkest times.

"One day, he bought me a sausage dog puppy, we called him Mr Blue. As I looked into his little brown eyes the day we brought him home and I held his tiny paw in my hand, I knew I had everything I could ever want right there in my arms," she said.

"Mr Blue helped me feel happiness again, he made me laugh, he always welcomed me with such a happy little face when I got home from work each day, and he would pinch my slippers and run off with them as a little game every time I got home (which he still does).

"As the months passed I found it harder and harder to leave my puppy to go to work. I missed him and couldn’t wait to get home to his happy little face, and laugh as he would run off with my slipper, a glint of mischief in his eye. I looked around for a home-from-home day care that he and Sally could enjoy while I was at work each day, and I just couldn’t find anything perfect for them," she said.

It was in January 2019 that the inspiration to create day care for sausage dogs came to Adele.

"In my spare time I took qualifications in dog day care and boarding, dog first aid and animal health and welfare. I even took a course in dog grooming because I was enjoying learning so much. We sold our little town house and looked around for the perfect countryside home, and chose our new home in Braunston.

"We have beautiful canal-side and countryside walks on our doorstep and it is the perfect setting for the day care and dog hotel I had a vision for."

The Sausage Dog Lodge & Spa is now officially open.

"Everywhere I go in the car people stop and point to the logo, and people talk to me when I’m walking my dog about the Sausage Dog Lodge. The news of our business is spreading fast and I am so excited for 2020.

"My life has certainly taken a path I never would have expected, least of all planned. It has led me to meet some of the most amazing people, share my life with most lovely sausage dog I could ever wish for and to find a job I absolutely love, running my own business.

"It’s taken a long time for me to have the strength to share my story, but I really hope that through having the courage to talk about my experience my story will bring comfort to others," she added.