Hello to our dear customers and your VIPs (Very Important Pets). 😊
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news this month… Pets Country Club have reached this year’s shortlist of the well-regarded Geelong Business Excellence Awards (GBEA)!
As the premier and most comprehensive business awards program for Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast, we’re most proud to be recognised publicly by our peers – the fellow business owners who nominated us.
As a proud, family-run Geelong business we’re also grateful for the opportunity to help ‘fly the flag’ for the many thousands of passionate entrepreneurs and businesses, big and small, who collectively contribute everyday to the prosperity and wellbeing of our fast-growing region. It goes without saying, like all the successes Pets Country Club has enjoyed over the past 28 years, none of it would have been possible without your support – our loyal customers and your precious pets!
What are the Geelong Business Excellence Awards (GBEA)?
So, what are these awards all about you might be asking? As GBEA’s website states:
“The Geelong Business Excellence Awards is a prestigious and comprehensive program that supports and recognises outstanding businesses, business leaders and young entrepreneurs. Established in 1986 and managed by The Geelong Chamber of Commerce, the Awards are the oldest continuously running business awards programs in Australia, and, as such, provide a significant recognition and celebration of business achievement and performance”.
With finalists announced earlier this month, we eagerly await the awards presentation evening at GMBHA Stadium on Thursday, 17 October – one of the biggest annual events on Geelong’s business calendar!
What it means to be a proud Geelong business
As the proud owners of Pets Country Club, our family (Alan, Yvonne, Lauren and Ashleigh Hill) have grown up in Geelong. Today, we play our small part contributing to this beautiful region by caring for the furry friends of locals (and those from further afield) from our historic home ‘Elcho Park’ in Lara. The way we see it, we’re a proud Geelong business run by proud Geelong people, serving the local community!
“We’re a proud Geelong business run by proud Geelong people, serving the local community!”
Since we first took the reins or should we say ‘leash’ in 1996, we’ve grown alongside Geelong, witnessing our city’s steady transformation, from a sleepy regional centre into a thriving commercial and lifestyle hub in its own right.
Being a business owner in a smaller regional city where community ties tend to be more close-knit is also a delight, and we’re proud to show that it’s possible to truly thrive by pursuing your passion – in our case caring for people’s pets. 😊
The Pets Country Club story
This briefly brings us back to how it all began in the 1990s… Yvonne and Alan Hill (parents of Lauren and Ashleigh Hill) always had a love of dogs which led them to become Rottweiler breeders. One of their dogs unfortunately ruptured her cruitiate ligament and the Vet advised Yvonne and Alan to swim her. This gave them the idea to open a doggie swimming pool.
So, they left their “day” jobs – Yvonne at the ATO and Alan his Industrial Chemist role to open ‘K9 Swim N Gym’. From there they purchased the 5-acre property at 170 Elcho Road Lara in 1996 (‘Elcho Park’), what is now known as ‘Pets Country Club’.
Almost 3 decades later and following a significant brand refresh in 2023, combined with exciting new additions to our facility over the years, our family-run business is going from strength to strength.
In Yvonne’s own words:
“Pets have been one of the most important parts of our family's lives for years. They have given us so much joy and taught our children so much about love, responsibility and respect. We love our jobs because we love pets. When we are not with our client’s pets, we are surrounded by our own and we couldn’t be happier”. 😊
On that note, good luck to all other 2024 finalists!
Keen to find out more about the Pets Country Club at Elcho Park Lara and be part of our story? Contact our friendly team of professional pet carers on (03) 5282 1286!