All of us at The Natural Pet Store would like to pay tribute today to Darrell Freeland who very sadly lost his life a year ago today. Darrell was the older brother of Ash Freeland, Founder and Managing Director of The Natural Pet Store.
Darrell brought Ash up from a young age due to losing their parents very early, and always encouraged Ash to follow his dreams. They had discussed, many times, Ash’s dream of opening an online pet store, and Darrell was always supportive, trying to persuade him to take the plunge and go for it! He taught Ash that with determination and hard work, you can achieve whatever you want to achieve.
After losing Darrell last year after a short illness, Ash’s thoughts started to turn more and more to his brother’s advice and his dream of opening an online pet store…
Ash has always loved dogs and it was Darrell that persuaded him to get his first two cockapoos, Rosie and Ted, at the same time! His hunt for natural pet food in order to give them the best start in life led him to many different websites and many different brands, but it was inconvenient and time-consuming to track down all the unique, natural and eco-friendly products that he was always on the look-out for.
Dolly, a third cockapoo, joined the family and Ash’s determination to open a natural pet store grew stronger. He started to carry out extensive research, and, using some of the money Darrell left him, took the plunge in October last year, starting to buy stock and get everything set up and in place. With everything finalised and ready to go, we were able to officially launch The Natural Pet Store on 29th February this year!
In Ashley's own words.
Ash said “My brother always told me while I was growing up that I could be whatever I wanted to be and that I should follow my dreams."
When I think of the sacrifices he must have made whilst bringing me up. It makes me sad. But I also feel incredibly proud that I have taken the plunge and followed my dream to open a pet store, just as he always told me I could. It’s been a roller coaster couple of months since we launched, but we are getting there now and we want to say a big thank you to all the lovely customers and their pets that have supported us so far. We’re so grateful for your support!”
Ash, Founder of The Natural Pet Store
Since opening The Natural Pet Store, baby cockapoo Hugo has joined Ash’s cockapoo family, as chief puppy product tester on the taste test panel. And all of the staff working at The Natural Pet Store are pet owners themselves and take their dogs to work with them.
So thank you Darrell Freeland, whose supportive words of encouragement are the very foundations of The Natural Pet Store. In these difficult times, it’s important to remember, with enough hard work and determination you can be anything you want to be – follow your dreams!
The Natural Pet Store fur baby team
