Cats vs Dogs; the age-old debate. Although most people fall into one of the two camps, Anna Seymour has shown equal love and respect for both in opening her own dog groomers, and a cat rescue organisation - both based in the Hainault area.

After being a stay-at-home mum, Anna wasn’t sure as to what career she wanted to pursue, and due to her love for dogs, decided to become a dog groomer. This worked out perfectly for her since she could work flexible hours to look after her own dogs and being self-employed would allow for this. She first achieved a City & Guilds level 2 and 3 qualifications in dog grooming, followed by a diploma, before starting her business in 2014. It was in a small space inside a pet shop on Manford Way. Anna named her business Classy Groomers, and quickly built a loyal client base in the Hainault community due to her caring and helpful attitude, and the quality of her grooming. It was because of this that when she moved into her own shop in Chigwell Row a year later, many of her clients continued to go to her for great results with each groom.

The new location for the shop was a good decision since Chigwell Row is a very dog-friendly community, partly due to being so close to Hainault Forest, meaning she was able to get more business and clients there. Anna regularly holds raffles and other charitable events to raise money to help fund her cat rescue charity. She is also constantly looking to improve or help maintain her shop, and thus puts most money earned, back into the business.

As well as grooming dogs, Anna also runs her own cat rescue organisation, Cats Galore, and helps other cat welfare charities. Cats Galore opened in 2017, and specialises in feral cat colonies – cats who have been allowed to breed in peoples’ gardens, abandoned sites, etc. It rescues, neuters, and rehomes cats to help keep them safe. After seeing many Facebook posts in her community about injured cats or abandoned kittens, she learned how to ‘trap cats’ (i.e., getting them off the street) and began to care for them.

After being in this line of work for over five years, Anna says, “I’ve learned that we have a much greater feral/stray population than any of us even realise, and that we need to get education to people about neutering.”, and that “People don’t want to chip their cats because they don’t want the financial responsibility if they get sick or get run over.” This shows how little some people care for the pets they’re supposed to love and look after, and how this responsibility is instead passed onto those willing to help. A great example is Anna and those she works with in other charities and organisations, who treat these cats as if they were their own. She receives some help from people in the community, such as online where they notify her of stray cats in danger, or those who take cats to rescue shelters for her - but mostly she does it all herself. In terms of donations, the same could be said; she has had help in the past from charities to help pay for vet bills, and from a handful of people who donate monthly to help her run this amazing cause.