An Elgin dog daycare business has been granted an extra month to find a new home, so it can keep looking after its four-legged clientele.
Doolittle Doggy Daycare caters for about a dozen canines every day, but is being forced to leave its Lossie Wynd premises because the upstairs floor is being converted into flats.
Esther Riddell feared the business might not survive into the winter, because her efforts to secure a new base had been frustrated by a barrage of red tape.
But the building’s owner has now granted Mrs Riddell until the end of next month to remain there – while she hunts for an alternative home.
Last night, the animal lover welcomed the reprieve and said it had given her hope the venture could live on.
She added: “This is just a wee bit of leeway, but it’s given me until the end of the year to find somewhere new.
“There has to be somewhere out there lying empty that would suit us, we really just need a blank space with a bit of grass outside.”
Mrs Riddell remains optimistic that a premises in the Pinefield Industrial Estate could become available in the near future.
She said: “I can’t build my hopes up, because we have had a few different possibilities come up recently that haven’t worked out.
“I’ve been disappointed because there always seems to be some red tape involved with changing the buildings so they are suitable for our dogs.
“We’ve been kicked in the teeth a few times, but I have a good feeling about this one.”
Mrs Riddell opened the firm with her sister, Meg Grant, last September. The sibling exhausted their savings by spending thousands of pounds refurbishing the former bookmakers to make it suitable for dogs.
It is likely that any future venue would need extensive work to be fit for purpose, which could cost up to £10,000.
Rubber flooring will have to be laid for the animals’ safety, and an outside area fenced off for them.
Supporters have rallied around the local business, and collected £1,600 towards the possible costs.
The fundraising effort has now been boosted by the creation of a 2017 calendar featuring pictures of the dogs the company cares for.
