Meet The Canine VA
Helping great canine businesses run better, work smarter and grow with confidence.
Strategic support for established canine businesses
The Canine VA provides strategic business support, systems, operational guidance and virtual assistance to established canine businesses across the UK.
I founded The Canine VA to bring together my 18+ years of executive assistant experience with my hands-on experience in the canine industry.
But The Canine VA isn’t about simply taking tasks off your to-do list. I don’t just do things for you. I think with you, see what’s coming, strengthen your business and help implement the changes.
It’s practical, experienced support for canine business owners who are ready for their business to work as well behind the scenes as it does in front of their clients.
The thinking behind the doing
As your business grows, what worked when it was smaller doesn’t always work quite so well anymore. There are more clients, more services, more to manage, and often more of it ends up resting with you.
I look at how your business is working behind the scenes, identify what’s getting in the way and do the work to make it better. That might mean strengthening your systems and processes, sorting out the practical detail or taking something completely off your plate.
You don’t just get advice on what needs to change. I work it out with you and then get on and do it.
The result is a business that’s better organised, more resilient and easier to run, without everything having to sit on your shoulders.
If you work with dogs, I understand the business behind it.
I work with established businesses across the canine industry, from dog trainers and behaviourists to veterinary professionals, groomers and other canine specialists.
I understand that running a canine business comes with its own particular challenges, from client care and animal welfare to capacity, seasonal demand, reputation and the sheer number of moving parts behind the scenes.
You don’t need to explain your industry to me. I understand the realities of running a professional canine business, and I use that knowledge to make sure the support I provide actually works for your business.
That’s why my approach isn’t a generic VA service adapted for the canine sector. It’s built around the realities of the industry I know and work in.
Dog Trainers
Behaviourists
Veterinary Behaviourists
Dog Groomers
Canine Practitioners
Dog Care Businesses and Canine Educators
Canine Hydrotherapists
Veterinary Surgeons
Dog Walkers
Pet product businesses
Animal Communicators.
What you can expect from working with me
Clarity over complexity
If something feels overwhelming, it’s often a sign that the structure isn’t right. I’ll help simplify how your business operates so things become clearer, more manageable and easier to keep on top of.
Professionalism with context
Calm, consistent support
I’m not interested in adding more noise, pressure or unnecessary complexity. My approach is steady, considered and practical, giving you someone reliable behind the scenes who knows what needs doing and gets on with it.
Sustainable growth
The systems and structure we put in place need to work not just for where your business is today, but for where it’s going next.
Thinking as well as doing
You won’t get a list of recommendations and be sent off to implement them yourself.
I’ll think through the problem with you, challenge things where needed, work out the best way forward and then help make it happen.
What you can expect from working with me
Clarity over complexity
If something feels overwhelming, it’s often a sign that the structure isn’t right. I’ll help simplify how your business operates so things become clearer, more manageable and easier to keep on top of.
Professionalism with context
Calm, consistent support
I’m not interested in adding more noise, pressure or unnecessary complexity. My approach is steady, considered and practical, giving you someone reliable behind the scenes who knows what needs doing and gets on with it.
Sustainable growth
The systems and structure we put in place need to work not just for where your business is today, but for where it’s going next.
Thinking as well as doing
You won’t get a list of recommendations and be sent off to implement them yourself.
I’ll think through the problem with you, challenge things where needed, work out the best way forward and then help make it happen.
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What sets Fiona apart is her ability to stay calm under pressure.
“Beyond her technical abilities, Fiona brings genuine creativity to her work. She doesn’t just complete tasks; she finds better ways to do them and offers fresh ideas that have genuinely improved how I operate. Her suggestions have saved me countless hours and helped me approach problems from angles I wouldn’t have considered on my own.”
– Rosee Riggs, Dog Trainer
From working in the dog industry to working behind the scenes
My background isn’t typical for the canine industry, and that’s very much the point.
I spent over 18 years working in executive support roles, where organisation, attention to detail and clear decision-making were simply part of the job. Alongside that, I built hands-on experience in the canine industry, including running a dog training business.
So I understand both sides: how a professional business needs to run, and what it’s actually like to be the person running it.
I created The Canine VA because I could see a gap in the canine industry. There are so many brilliant, knowledgeable people running successful businesses, but not necessarily with the systems, structure or operational support to make running the business feel as good as delivering the work.
I wanted to bring my two worlds together, my professional experience and my understanding of the canine industry, to provide the kind of practical, strategic support I knew these businesses needed.
And that’s still what I love most about my work: making things work better behind the scenes, and giving business owners the space and confidence to focus on what they do best.
Thinking strategically & getting things done
From there, I’ll help you decide what needs attention, bring my experience and perspective to the table, and then get on with the work.
That might mean improving your systems and processes, taking care of operational tasks, supporting your marketing or simply taking something completely off your plate.
I don’t work in isolation. I look at how the different parts of your business connect, so the changes we make actually work together and support where you’re going.
You get the thinking, the experience and the doing without having to carry it all yourself.
And then there’s me
I’m based in South Devon, working with canine businesses across the UK and beyond.
I value calm, clear thinking and work that’s done properly.
For someone whose work revolves around structure and organisation, some of my best thinking happens walking along the coast with absolutely no plan at all.
Usually with Kensi charging ahead somewhere nearby.
You’ll often find us walking at Berry Head, taking in the space and quiet, or out along the breakwater with the sea on both sides. Something about that shift in environment helps me think more clearly.
And then there are the longer beach walks, where Kensi gets to properly run and switch off, which, in its own way, does the same for me.
There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere.
Most of the time, the answer isn’t to do more.
It’s to structure what’s already there in a way that actually works.
Ready to make your life and business lighter?
Maybe things are going well, but you’re spending too much time keeping everything moving.
Maybe everything still depends on you.
Or maybe you’ve reached the point where you know the business needs more structure, better systems and more support you just don’t want another person to tell you what you should be doing.
You want someone who can think it through with you and then get on with it.
That’s where I can help.