Our Story

Welcome to Woof and Purr! A pet shop that puts your pets first above everything else. Our names are Hannah and Paul and we’ve been looking after animals for most of our adult lives. We own two pets, a Jack Russel terrier and a domestic short haired cat, called Pippi and Mr Bump respectively. 

Woof and Purr started its life as an online only business, catering to the needs of pet owners across the UK during the third wave of Covid in 2021, providing enrichment toys, natural treats and delicious food for dogs and cats, while giving helpful tips and tricks on our socials on how to keep pets entertained during lockdown. 

A year later, in 2022, we made the exciting and somewhat terrifying decision to open a Brick-and-Mortar store in the historic town of Coggeshall. Our store was only tiny but we utilised every square inch we could to fit stock in. 

We are now in the process of moving premises to a lovely shop on Church Street in Coggeshall. This store has more space for us to provide more variety and allows us the ability to continue providing enriching toys, treats and accessories to pet owners in the North Essex area and the rest of the UK through online. 

Let’s Dive deeper 

Hannah studied animal management, earning her degree when she completed a thesis on improving enrichment for penguins in captivity. This involved her working at Colchester Zoo with the penguin keepers and devising ways that would encourage more natural behaviours within the enclosure. We will write a blog about this in future that goes deeper into the ins and outs. Hannah has kept many dogs in her lifetime, as well as working for kennels. There’s not a great deal that Hannah doesn’t know when it comes to dogs, as long as it’s not medical then she knows it. Hannah will always be searching for the next best thing for dogs.

My name is Paul, I’ve worked in the pet industry for many years, working for local pet stores at senior levels and have gained a wide knowledge base regarding pet husbandry. My focus during my career has been aquatics selling and caring for tropical, freshwater fish and ponds but I have worked with many different kinds of animals and gained an understanding of their needs. I have also rescued and owned many cats! (Crazy cat man) and am always on the hunt to find new and exciting ways to improve their enrichment. 

Pippi - Bark bark bark bark bark, woof, woof, sneeze. 

Mr Bump - … (He doesn’t say much) 

So that is Woof and Purr in a nutshell. Have a look around and we hope you find exactly what you’re looking for!