Our Staff

Sarah - Co-owner

Sarah joined Scruffy's as the full-time manager in September 2008 and is now a co-owner of the business. Originally from the UK with a background in childcare management, Sarah moved to Australia in 2004 to help build and run six childcare centres on the Northern Beaches. Four years on her passion for dogs took over and she made the move to Scruffy's and has never looked back. Sarah has a certificate in Advanced Canine Communication and is qualified in Canine First Aid.

In 2017 Sarah and husband Matt welcomed their son William into the world and in 2020 daughter Maddie joined this growing family. Sarah is pictured here with Chester a Koolie x Kelpie x Corgi rescue dog who it could be said, changed everything and started Sarah on her new career.  Also introducing Heidi, their latest addition, a rescue Bull Arab-x-Kelpie x we’re not sure! Going by this pup’s feet we think they might have taken on a Great Dane x!

Sarah has completed her NDTF Dog Training qualification

Eleanor - Co-Owner

Eleanor is not quite sure how she moved from being a client with a 16-week-old Shih-tzu puppy to a few years later, the proud co-owner of Scruffy's. However, the adventure continues, and Eleanor brings a solid background in business development and marketing experience to the team. After training in Opera as at the NSW Conservatorium of Music Eleanor embarked on a career in business focused on sales and marketing and left a career in advertising account management/sales to take on the adventure with business partner, Sarah, of building Scruffy's into the business it is today.

She is proud to introduce the afore-mentioned Shih-tzu, Lexie, now a retiree but as alert as ever. Lexie is not sure if she fully approves of younger half-sister Aria who arrived on her doorstep in 2018 but we all know they are best of friends!

Lauren - Manager

Since moving here in 2003, Lauren now calls Australia home. She holds strong ties with her home-town London, England and grew up in a family committed to rescuing homeless and abused cats from the streets of London. Back home in Australia, Lauren has continued to be involved with street cats; rehabilitating and rehoming a colony of street cats in conjunction with Pittwater Animal Hospital. After a career in retail and management Lauren started at Scruffy's in 2011 as a daycare attendant is now the general manager of Scruffy's, she manages about fifteen people across four departments, daycare, grooming, reception, retail and our school bus. Scruffy's survives and thrives because of Lauren’s commitment to her team members, her passion for dogs and her experience in managing people and building relationships with clients.  In 2018 Lauren took on Hunter, a young rescue Huntaway x Beagle and they have been inseparable ever since. Finally, an honourable mention must also go to Spencer, the British Shorthaired cat who keeps young Hunter firmly in check!

Lauren has completed her NDTF Dog Training qualification and is part of our training team.

Anna - Assistant Manager

Anna’s passion for dogs led her to Scruffy's and we are thrilled to have her on our growing team. At the ripe age of two Anna began a nineteen-year relationship with her first love, Flopsy, a Maltese x Llasa Apso. By the age of seven Anna was minding dogs for neighbours and family friends and now, many years later, that passion has only grown stronger.

After a three-year stint working and completing qualifications in childcare Anna was lured to working in the Scruffy's daycare team and now heads our reception team. In 2021 Anna commenced a double degree in Law & Psychology at Macquarie University. On reception she is most ably assisted by Theo and Huxley, her two Giant Bernese Mountain dogs who go everywhere with her except uni!

Anna has completed her NDTF dog training qualification and is part of our training team

Vanessa - Reception  

Vanessa - or Ness as she has become known, is originally from Birmingham in the UK. Ness has been a lover of our canine counterparts all her life. Ness and husband, Phil arrived in Australia in 2008 to start a new life.

Ness is pictured here with Nipper, their cheeky Jack Russell rescue pup who has brought much joy into their lives with his antics! Vanessa completed a National UK Diploma in Animal Husbandry and finds working with dogs a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

In 2015 Ness and husband Phil welcomed their daughter Chloe into their lives and in 2021 young Joshua arrived to complete their family.

Margherita - Senior Daycare Team Leader and Head Canine Trainer

Margherita is one of our fantastic trainers who has become an important part of the day-care team. She moved to Australia from Italy in March 2022 and joined the Scruffys Team shortly after. Margherita was born in Rome and dogs have always been a part of her life. At just 3 years of age, she began her relationship with her first dog Mila, a rescue greyhound X. As she grew older, she aspired to be a veterinarian however this changed course with the adoption of Ares in 2013. Ares is an American Staffy X who was rescued as a puppy from a dog fighting ring in Naples and still lives with her family in Italy. Margherita had to put a lot of training into him to counteract his aggression attributed to his breeding lines. In 2015, Margherita chose to complete her Enci Diploma, the nationally recognized dog training qualification in Italy, to ensure she was giving Ares everything he needed for the best quality of life. Since then, she has found herself in many roles and holds so much experience in training dogs particularly in behavior recovery. Her favorite role was freelance training as it exposed her to such a diverse range of behavioral issues and allowed her to gain more experience and refine her skills. Margherita entered dog training to make a difference. Her passion comes from seeing the change within dogs and she aims to improve their quality of life. Within all her training she emphasizes the importance of trust and respect between owner and dog. In the future she hopes to open her own rescue and training facility that focuses on rehabilitation and rehoming as well as opening a program for children to be involved in focused on dog education and training. 

Kiyoko - Senior Groomer

Originally from Japan, Kiyoko has been with Scruffy's since 2007. She is an award-winning groomer with a wealth of experience in all styles and a gentle approach. Kiyoko enjoys grooming all dogs but has a passion for Poodles and Shih-tzus.

Kiyoko is constantly striving for that perfect groom...personally we think she already has it! In 2017 Kiyoko won first place in Open Poodle at the Royal Easter Show on a mini brown poodle. Previous Awards include 1st Place - Open Terriers, Royal Easter show 2013, 2nd place - Gundogs & 3rd place - Master Salon Freestyle, Ausgoom 2013, 1st place - Salon Freestyle, Royal Easter Show 2012 and Best In Group, Summergroom 2011 Poodle competition on a standard white poodle.

In 2020 Kiyoko and her partner Michael welcomed their son, Taiyo into their lives. 

Natalia - Junior Groomer

Natalia made the move from Brazil to Australia back in 2019 with her husband. She has always had dogs in her life and was excited to continue growing her knowledge and skill set working in Australia. She started working as a local dog walker and soon after joined the Scruffys Team as our school bus driver. While she enjoyed picking up our very excited day-care dogs, she was eager to gain experience in day-care and grooming too. Natalia excelled in the grooming as our washer bather and quickly established herself as a valued member of our grooming team. It wasn’t long before she realised that this was her passion and future career path. We have now organised for Natalia to attend the amazing Nicky Redwood’s Australian Grooming School this October where she will learn how to clip and groom all different coat types. Natalia hopes to become a groomer and hopefully one day own a little dachshund.

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