Gillian’s Journey

I left my job at Fife Council in 2001 to study for an NC in Animal Care at Elmwood College which covered:

Anatomy & Physiology / Animal Behaviour / Animal Health & Nutrition / Animal Reproduction / Diseases / Dog Training / Dog Grooming / Equine Care & Nutrition / First Aid / Genetics / Legislation & Welfare / Management & Maintenance of Animal Boarding Establishments / Pet & Animal Husbandry / Records & Accounts / Sale of Livestock I did start to study for a HNC in Animal Care but decided it wasn’t taking me in the direction I wanted to go. 

Voda-Bone was born in August 2003 (the name was a joke and it stuck!) “Dog food delivered direct to your door”. I posted thousands of leaflets through doors throughout Fife. My first day of trading was at a car boot sale in Safeway (which is now Morrisons) car park with £250 worth of stock on a pasting table. I built up my stock and bought a stall and started trading at markets such as Bathgate, Falkirk, Ingliston, Methil and Cowdenbeath 6 days a week, the other day was spent going round suppliers to replenish my stock. I would be pricing and sorting it until the early hours ready to start the whole process again at 5am. After each shift I would spend the remainder of the evening delivering dog food throughout Fife. I had no clue what I was doing when I first stared out. I learned and gained experience through time, patience and perseverance. 

I opened a shop in Central Avenue, Grangemouth, (eh? why so far away I hear you say) well that wasn’t the wisest choice I ever made but at the time Fife was quite rife with Pet Shops so I decided to go further afield. My very good friends Shelly & Drew helped me get it ready to open. I would spend my evenings after closing the shop delivering throughout Fife sometimes up until 10.00pm. During my time in the shop I had the time to plunge myself into researching dog nutrition and what I discovered about the pet food industry really opened my eyes and I stopped selling big corporation brands. 

I traded at Tayport and Crail car boot sales on Sundays and did home deliveries covering Fife, Kinross, Grangemouth & Falkirk. 

After swearing I would never have another shop after the Grangemouth disaster I took on a very small unit at Culzean Place at the back of the Glamis Centre in Pitteuchar, Glenrothes. By this time I was obsessed with nutrition and would only sell certain brands. My beautiful boy Larken who is no longer with us started to get really bad digestive issues and after frustratingly trying him on dozens of the best dry foods available his digestion was still terrible. One of my regulars George who is sadly no longer with us told me to try him on raw food, he nipped home and brought me some and within hours my boys poops were incredible. I then started researching and selling Natures Menu raw foods. I have fed all of my dogs a raw diet since. 

I moved to a larger unit at Nasmyth Road in Southfield, Glenrothes. The business was growing fast and I was tucked away in a corner so it wasn’t easy for new customers to find so I started enquiries into something bigger and more central. 

I moved to Pentland Court at the Saltire Centre, Glenrothes. 

I opened Scrub Yer Dug self service dog wash. 

I moved to my current premises at Newark Place, Eastfield, Glenrothes – Our customers have come from far and wide to visit us… Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Falkirk, Stirling, Aberdeen, Inverness.