Poorly pups, peaky puss cats and barfing bunnies are among the daily customers for Creature Cabs in Westgate.
The furry-friend cab service was set up by resident Lisa Wickings in November and has been building up a steady list of regulars.
Lisa, who is also a carer, says the idea for the venture came to her as she was already helping out neighbours who were unable to get to vet appointments.
The 50-year-old said: “I was thinking about it in October as I was already helping out friends and neighbours who had pets and were unable to get lifts.
“Then I was at Dafne vets with my dog and said about doing the cabs and they said I should.”
Creature Cabs launched in November and has teamed up with Dafne vets in Manston to provide services for pet passengers and food and medicine deliveries.
Lisa, who lives with her boxer Paxton and cat Snowy, said: “You hear about people who can’t get to the vets, especially out of hours, and some people who don’t have transport and so don’t have a pet even though they’d like one. I think Creature Cabs means those people might adopt a pet and also helps to stop a lot of worry for some people, which is brilliant.”
Lisa says working with animals is now her vocation. She had aspired to a career in sports being a talented footballer and Judo member as a youngster. Sadly a fall caused her to fracture her back and put an end to that path.
Instead, Lisa says she has become a ‘Dr Doolittle’ with her passion for animals.
Happy Paw-ssengers
And she has had an assortment of passengers. She said: “I have done dogs, cats, a lovebird, cockatoo, bunnies and a hedgehog although I don’t think I’d like to do a tarantula very much!”
