About Us

Golden Arrow Shippers Lake and Kennels

We are just a small, but very dedicated team, which has been going for a long time. We have never tried to be the biggest, just the best.

Because of the experiences with our own pets, we do understand how you feel about your pet and our aim is to make this whole process as stress free as possible for you and for them.

Chris and Fiss live on the premises and the office, workshop and the kennels are a short walk down the path from the cottage - what it is to commute 50 yards to work.

We have 12 kennels for dogs, all of which have underfloor heating and each a covered outside area. We have three large grass runs, where the dogs are exercised during the day. We do like to have your pet here for 3 days before they fly and for which there is no charge. Kennelling for longer periods of time is not a problem and we have had pets here for months at a time.

We have 10 pens for cats, all of which have tubular heaters under the benches and a cat flap to an open area outside.

We like to think they all come to us with their own unique personality and leave with that personality intact - no pet is the same as another. They have names not numbers here. It gives us pleasure, great pleasure, getting to know them and to look after them - and quite often, it has been known for the tears to start when they leave.

This is much more than a job. It is a way of life.

The Team

We are a small team of people who have been working together long enough to know almost what the others are thinking at times!

To take it from the top, we have:

Chris Sorenson Golden Arrow Shippers

Chris

Chris is the Boss, Anchorman and part Viking, who is talked about on the beaches of New Zealand and parks of Seoul (true actually, a chance meeting of migrants)! Derek once told someone that what Chris didn’t know about pets and the shipping of them would not fill a space the size of a postage stamp. But, then he has been doing it (as our nephew puts it) since the days of the dinosaur.

Golden Arrow Shippers Andy

Andy

Andy, without whom we could not function, makes the travelling boxes. They are all made to measure on the premises when the pets have arrived here – just to be on the safe side in terms of measurements! Andy also keeps the place shipshape, looks after the grass, the lake and the wood, but is not that fussy about being in the office – there is always something more important to do outside. His son Kieran is often here at weekends, if he is not working, to help with box making or whatever needs to be done (like showing Chris how to drive the tractor!).

Golden Arrow Shippers Derek

Derek

Derek does most of our driving, often with his wife Brenda riding 'shotgun'. They will come in at 4am whatever the weather with smiles on their faces ready for another 'adventure' and will return having travelled half way around the UK on some occasions, still with a smile and a story to tell!

Golden Arrow Shippers Fissa

Fissa

Fissa is kennelmaid, wife to Chris, general dog’s body and bottle washer. She looks after your pets on a day-to-day basis, helps the vets when they come in, and like Andy, does not like office work!