About

My name is Louise Simmons and I am the Director and Operator of C.I Precious Paws Ltd.

I have had a love of animals all of my life. I was born into an animal-loving family with dogs, cats and horses never being far away. Throughout my whole life, I think there has only ever been a period of a couple of weeks without a dog in the house. I grew up with an Old English Sheepdog and then as I got older and started getting involved with dog showing, over the years we have owned all different breeds; a Pekingese was my first dog of my own at the age of 7 years old and from there we owned a Cavalier King Charles, a Miniature Schnauzer, a Papillon, a German Shorthaired Pointer, Tibetan Terriers and now we have 2 Boston Terriers and a Pug.
I am married with 2 teenage daughters.

I qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2005 and went on further to qualify as a Veterinary Nurse Assessor in 2009, helping to train student Veterinary Nurses. I left nursing in 2012 having worked in a local Veterinary Practice for 12 years and at the time found having 2 small children whilst doing on-calls and late-night shifts quite a challenge! I have since worked in human healthcare settings as a PA to GP’s and more recently working for the Medical Specialist Group, being based in the local Oncology Unit in the Hospital.

I started dog showing at the age of 5 years old and have been lucky enough to experience a wonderful hobby, now spanning across 36 years. I have competed in dog shows locally in Guernsey and Jersey and all across the UK. I was fortunate enough to compete in the UK Handling Team at World Shows in Belgium, Luxembourg and Vienna. I was also involved in other disciplines such as agility and obedience.
Nowadays, I regularly show locally or head off on camping adventures with the Boston Terriers all over the UK, to compete at Championship Shows. Although both dogs have been very successful and have both qualified for Crufts for life, they are our family members first and foremost and pets before show dogs. My daughters have also enjoyed involvement in dog showing and have also both been very successful locally and off-island; qualifying to compete at Crufts. For many years, I have also served on the committee of the Guernsey Kennel Club.

I have had a dream for many years to run my own business and have reached a point in my life where I now feel I am able to draw on my years of knowledge and experience and offer a very much needed service to the Islands.

I have many people to thank for their support and guidance in the formation of C.I Precious Paws and without them, my dream couldn’t be made reality:

My family, especially my husband and mum, who have both been my rock
The States Veterinary Officers’ team – David Chamberlain, Dr Grace Hodgkinson and Lorna Chadwick.
The team at APHA in the UK (The Animal and Plant Health Agency)
My UK Defra Type-2 Authorisation representatives
The freight team at Condor/Brittany Ferries (especially Karl and Graham)

Along with many companies: Paul at San Lorenzo, Kevin and Toby at Moonfrost, Ian at Fischer Panda, Beth at BC K9 Design, Sarah at Wintadreama Design, Xtreme Signs, Printed in Guernsey, ABC Photography, Paulo Caetano Photography to name a few.