Love for dogs inspires fast-growing business Wuffalo

Wuffalo is going from strength to strength.

Founded in 2024, Evie Hole-Todd’s dog services have just opened the doors to Wuffalo Park, a new HQ in Gainford.

What began as a one-woman dog-walking business has evolved rapidly.

It now employs five other walkers and offers an ever-growing range of four-legged opportunities.

“I focus on doing behaviour work,” Evie said.

“I do a lot of puppy training and work on different behavioural issues.

“We built this space because I needed something that could be an HQ for Wuffalo.

“We can base our walks from here, especially for dogs who can’t always be off the lead.

“And we can hire it out for the public.

“We know any dog is safe in here.

“It’s peace of mind for the owners, and the dogs can socialise.

“Then I run courses in here and do all my assessments and stuff.”

Wuffalo Park, just off North Lane on the edge of Gainford, is the starting point for the daily dog walks.

There are assessments and training classes each morning, with walks until 2pm.

Then the activity fields are available to hire from 2pm on weekdays and all day at the weekend.

New facilities include an adventure field.

“That’s for fast-paced dogs who want to be running and climbing,” Evie said.

“We’ve got an agility jump if you want to use it.

“There’s a sandpit as well to encourage digging, because people don’t always appreciate dogs digging up their gardens.

“We also have a photo booth, just to make something a bit different.”

There’s also an enrichment field.

The plan is for longer grass, making it more stimulating for the dogs and giving them more places to sniff.

Evie also teaches scent detection and has a scent wall in place to encourage dogs to move up and down, sniffing at different heights while they look for things.

Police scent training works in a similar way.

The nature nook, with bark flooring, also helps to stimulate dogs by having different textures underfoot.

And owners aren’t completely left out – as well as a snack shack with doggie treats, there are also refreshments for humans available.

Getting the new site set up proved to be hard work – especially since it coincided with the height of summer.

Luckily, Evie had plenty of help.

“We got onto it as soon as the planning came through,” she said.

“That was right in the heatwave, so it was a family affair to set it up.

“My mum and my stepdad were fantastic, I couldn’t have done it without them.

“My mum’s like a terrier, she just won’t stop.

“Then my grandparents, who gave me the opportunity to build this here.

“And my lovely partner, Ed, who took a lot of time off work to build it for me.

“I think in the end they were sick to death of me, but we all loved it really.”

Early feedback from dog owners has been enthusiastic, with plenty of demand for Wuffalo’s facilities and services.