ThePet.net Awards 2009 have revealed the most pet-owners rate the West Midlands as the best place in the UK to own a pet after thousands of pet-owners were invited to vote for their favourite pet-friendly businesses.

ThePet.net Awards were completely free to enter with hundreds of different pet-related businesses and passionate pet-owners taking part nationwide, but almost half of all winners are based in the West Midlands including the favourite Pet Shop, Vets, Pet-friendly Pub/Restaurant, Pet Sitter, Cat Breeder and Canine Hydrotherapy Centre.

Full list of results

Favourite Pet Friendly Hotel or B&B: Little John Inn, Hathersage, Derbyshire.

Favourite Cattery: Broadlands Cattery, Lincolnshire.

Favourite Dog Trainer: Canine Communications, Hampshire.

Favourite Groomer: Give a Dog a Comb, Hampshire.

Favourite Boarding Kennels: Ridge Hill Kennels & Cattery, Taporley, Cheshire.

Favourite Pet Shop: Doolittles Pets and Aquatics, Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

Favourite Pet Friendly Pub or Restaurant: The Why Not Inn, Halesowen, West Midlands.

Favourite Caravan Site or Holiday Park: Pitton Cross, Swansea.

Favourite Vet: Rosewood Animal Hospital, Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

Favourite Holiday Cottage: Coquet Cottages, Northumberland.

Favourite Dog Breeder: Foxypoms, Northwich, Cheshire.

Favourite Cat Breeder: Exotiques Amour, West Midlands.

Favourite Dog walker: Animal Magic, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Favourite Pet-sitter: The Pet Minder, Dudley, West Midlands.

Favourite Canine Hydrotherapy Centre: Woof n Water, Smethick, West Midlands.

Favourite Pet Portrait Painter: Petographer, Whitton, Middlesex.

Marc (co-founder of ThePet.net) said at the awards ceremony: “We hope the awareness raised by the Awards will help highlight those deserving pet-related businesses that proudly put ‘pet before profit’, offer great value-for-money and fantastic customer service. This will in turn keep Britain owning pets forever as well as reduce pet abandonment and increase rescue pet adoption.”

ThePet.net Awards 2009 were presented on 4 May at this year’s Ultimate Pet Show at the Birmingham NEC.

If you missed this years awards or think you know of a pet friendly service who should have been there – don’t worry. We will be launching ThePet.net Awards 2010 in November this year. Watch this space or sign up to ThePet.net and we’ll keep you up to date.

This fantastic prize includes three nights in a pretty 18th century Cotswold stone cottage situated in the attractive village of Bouton-on-the-Hill.

But not only that, we throw in £100 towards travel and a deluxe family hamper.

Enter now before the 31 March 2009.

This amazing prize is offered to celebrate the launch of Sony’s new family comedy animation Open Season 2 featuring Mr Weenie the dachshund!

Check our the competition rules here.

ThePet.net co-founder vet Marc Abraham is one of the judges, alongside fellow dog-lovers Brian Blessed and Victoria Stilwell!

The winning pooch will get to represent Oldies Club for the following year. The only rule for this competition is that dogs entering need to be veterans, they do not necessarily need to be rescue dogs.

Oldies Club is a lovely charity that rescues and re-homes older dogs via a network of foster homes and works with other rescue centres to publicise the plight of their older dogs too.

Oldies Club has divided the UK up into 7 regions (North East, North West, South East, South West, Midlands, Scotland and Wales. The winner of each region will go forward to the Grand Final.

As well as becoming the face of Oldies Club for 2009/10 the winner will also win a dog bed worth up to £50 kindly donated by Kudos Pet Products and a signed copy of Pet Photography Now! by Paul Walker of Paws Pet Photography.

For information on how to enter your dog for the ‘Woof Factor’ here

If you’re going too then make sure you come and say ‘Hi’ to ThePet.net founders Marc Abraham and Andrew Seel on Stand 10 in Hall 3.

Our ThePet.net Stand will also have something for the younger dog-fans too as we’ll be showing Sony Pictures Animation’s much-awaited latest movie, Open Season 2, starring Mr Weenie the Dachshund and a Poodle named Fifi. So if your family could do with a bit of a break – your are feet are hurting and your kids are tired – why not bring them along to our stand, watch the movie for a bit, and chill out on our funky beanbags?

And if you’re at Crufts on Thursday, then please come along at 1pm to help celebrate the ‘Year of the Rescue Pet’ with representatives of our nominated organization Hope Rescue who work slightly differently to other rescues by acting as a point of co-ordination between dog pounds and rescue shelters.

For more information and to buy tickets online visit www.crufts.org.uk

The correct answer was: (B) Puppy Love
The lucky winner was Sarah Laycock.

We have plenty more competitions like this one coming, so keep an eye out. Sign up to ThePet.net if you want to us to keep you up to date.

Currently we’re offering you the chance to win an amazing weekend in the countryside with your dog. And we’re throwing a deluxe hamper in too!!

Check it out here

The winner, to be judged by rabbit-loving writer and journalist Carol Muskoron, will win a bag of Burgess Excel Adult Rabbit; as well as all six runners-up collecting a packet of Nature Snacks. Watch this space to see who she chooses.

Finalists

Day 1 – ‘Tiny’ owned by MidgetGem

Day 2 -  ‘Princess Roxy’ owned by nbarrett

Day 3 – ‘Prince’ owned by melanie

Day 4 – ‘George AKA Asbo’ owned by Trisha1960

Day 5 – ‘Scooter’ owned by MKorec

Day 6 – ‘Hugs’ owned by Dragon-crazy

Day 7 – ‘Chocolate’ owned by Dragon-crazy

To celebrate National Rabbit Week, we’ll be uploading a different picture of a ThePet.net member’s rabbit to our Pet of the Day slot every day, and the winner of Rabbit of the Week, judged by rabbit-loving writer and journalist Carol Muskoron will win a bag of Burgess Excel Adult Rabbit; as well as all six runners-up collecting a packet of Nature Snacks.

So why not hop to it and upload a picture of your rabbit now at:
www.thepet.net/pets/new

Small print: No purchase necessary. Prize is non transferable and there is no cash alternative. Entrants must be 18 years or over. Full details of our privacy policy and competition rules are available here.

Rabbits have always been thought of as the ideal children’s pet, seemingly requiring less care and attention than the more popular cats and dogs. But this has never been further from the truth as more is discovered about the diet and nutritional needs of Britain’s two million pet bunnies.

So just for next week, rabbit-nutrition experts and all-round good-guys Burgess feeds have re-named the rabbit the ‘Furry Fibrevore’, so that more owners and potential owners can understand what a huge part fibre plays in maintaining the digestive, dental, and even emotional health of rabbits.

To celebrate National Rabbit Week, we’ll be uploading a different picture of a ThePet.net member’s rabbit to our Pet of the Day slot every day, and the winner of Rabbit of the Week, judged by rabbit-loving writer and journalist Carol Muskoron will win a bag of Burgess Excel Adult Rabbit; as well as all six runners-up collecting a packet of Nature Snacks.

So why not hop to it and upload a picture of your rabbit now at:
www.thepet.net/pets/new

Useful Links:

Official Burgess National Rabbit Week: www.nationalrabbitweek.co.uk
Marc the vet’s advice on rabbits’ diets: www.marcthevet.com/national-rabbit-week-24th-30th-january-2009
Carol Muskoron’s website allaboutyou: www.allaboutyou.com
Burgess Pet Care: www.burgesspetcare.co.uk

Small print: No purchase necessary. Prize is non transferable and there is no cash alternative. Entrants must be 18 years or over. Full details of our privacy policy and competition rules are available here.

ThePet.net knows just how important puppy love is in a relationship, which is why we are giving you the chance to win a romantic Valentine’s night for you, your partner and, of course, your dogs at Cliveden a top UK retreat.

To be entered into the prize draw simply answer the following question and email A, B or C with your full name and postcode to hello@thepet.net by midnight 8 Feb 09.

What is the name of the 70s hit by Donny Osmond?

A Yuppie Love

B Puppy Love

C Guppy Love

Cliveden, a grand stately home in the heart of the Berkshire countryside, is the pawfect hotel for a romantic break with its extravagant detailing and indulgent service. As the setting for the Profumo affair, Cliveden has seen its fair share of passion but it considers puppy love to be equally important and this is reflected in its dog-friendly attitude.

It is almost impossible to believe that such a grand and historic country house could be a dog-friendly hotel but every canine is greeted with a very warm welcome and treated as a VIP guest.

70 per cent of pet owners would not even consider dating a person who was not an animal lover and ThePet.net is working hard through its website to get like-minded pet people together to share their experiences.

To find out more about Cliveden, visit www.clivedenhouse.co.uk

Small print. The prize is for one night’s accommodation on 14 February 2009 at Cliveden in Berkshire, UK for two people plus up to two dogs. All of the bedrooms are double rooms. Whilst staying at Cliveden all residents can enjoy access to our Pavilion Spa facilities, however treatments are at an additional cost. NB. There is a National Trust charge of £8.50 per person during your stay, unless you are a current National Trust member. Cliveden offers a dog sitting service which is £12.50 per hour (either in your room or talking the dog for a walk), please book ensure that this is booked up in advance. The winner will be contacted on 9 February 2009 via the email address they use to send their answer. No purchase necessary. Prize is non transferable and there is no cash alternative. Entrants must be 18 years or over. Full details of our privacy policy and competition rules are available here.

Whether you own a dog, cat, rabbit, or even a chipmunk, ThePet.net is giving you the chance to win a years supply of pet food completely free, courtesy of Burgess Pet Care!

This fantastic prize will go to ThePet.net member who has invited the most of their pet-owning friends and/or pet-friendly businesses to join ThePet.net between 24 December 2008 and midnight 31 January 2009 and sends us an email with the number who have joined to hello@thepet.net by 15 February 2009 (the invited friend or business must join ThePet.net to count). How easy is that?

So why not start inviting your friends right now by clicking here

The Winner will be ThePet.net member who has the most friends or business accept their invite to join ThePet.net between 24 Dec 08 and midnight on 31 Jan 09. The prize is a one year supply of pet food for your nominated pet, as available within the Burgess Pet Care pet food range at the time of supply. The quantity of food won will be as deemed suitable for your nominated pet by Burgess Pet Care. Their decision is final. The winner will be contacted by the email address they provide at www.thepet.net.  No purchase necessary. Prize is non transferable and there is no cash alternative. Entrants must be 18 years or over. Full details of our privacy policy and competition rules are available here.