WHEN Angie Wanless was asked to ‘babysit’ a customer’s animals while she went away, the animal lover had no idea just how big the menagerie was.

But she turned up to the Appleby-in-Westmorland address to find three guinea pigs, a rabbit, a fish, two gerbils, two rescue cats and two rescue dogs awaiting her care.

However, Angie is a farm girl who isn’t fazed by a few household pets. Indeed, her new business, ‘At Home with Angie’, takes in much larger animals than these.

Just last week she was running a Pony Club camp at Redesdale Equestrian between Otterburn and Elsdon.

“I had looked after the place while the owners went away for the weekend and they asked me back to help with the camp,” said Angie, who lives at Haltwhistle.

Angie, who received just over £600 from Northumberland National Park Authority and a small grant from Gateshead Council, is finding there’s a real gap in the market for her house-sitting for animals service.

“Whilst there are companies who do it for domestic animals, I am finding no one really bothers with horses, so that’s something I can offer.

“ I’ve also found there’s a market in people with rescue animals. They don’t want to put them in kennels because of what they’ve already been through. Since launching my business in May, I’ve had four bookings for rescue animals, three of which I’ve already been back to.”

Angie is prepared to travel far and wide. “I’ve been down to Worcester working on a stud farm. I also have a sales background, helping people sell racehorses, and there’s a market in the week up to the sales to employ people on stud farms. I’ve been over to Ireland, France, Australia and New Zealand helping to sell horses.”

Her CV includes working with Jimmy Walton at Flotterton and with Pauline Robson at Capheaton.

For the last five years, Angie, who was brought up at Crow’s Nest Farm at East Twice Brewed, worked with grounds maintenance specialists GMS, but she missed the animals.

She added: “I decided I wanted to work for myself. I just like helping people, whether on smallholdings with a few cows, sheep and dogs or within the equestrian community. The response I have had so far has been great, with local vets passing on my number.”