Pet Store to be opened by Peggy the dog - and owner Melinda Messenger

The ceremony will be performed by dog Peggy, who will be accompanied by her owner, Swindonian television personality Melinda Messenger.

Peggy will bite through a string of sausages to officially open the store, which will be one of the first in the UK to get both a new-look Community Pet Clinic and ‘Jolly Groomer’ - part of a £1m investment over the next 18 months to supercharge Jollyes’ provision of vet clinics, grooming parlours and other pet services in its UK stores.

Regional manager Sam Wells said: “We’re starting work today to get the store ready to welcome Peggy, Melinda and the pet parents of Swindon at the end of the month. 

“We’re looking forward to bringing the kind of value and service that’s already available at all our other Jollyes stores to the heart of Swindon.”

Jollyes says its service expansion in Swindon will reflect its commitment to extraordinary value. Vet-supervised dog and cat vaccinations in the clinic will start at £14 and £13 for rabbits, with primary course jabs for dogs and cats at £33.

Microchipping, already compulsory for dogs and compulsory for cats in England from 2024, starts at £13, which the firm says offers significant savings against average prices charged by formal vet practices.

The Jolly Groomer at Swindon will offer straightforward pricing for a quality groom, with owners promised that it won't cost a paw and a leg.

Customers can choose precisely what grooming service they need, so they don’t pay for ones they don’t. Prices for a bath and brush will start at £15.

Jollyes in Swindon will also be the first store to have its own ‘bedroom’ where dogs, cats and other four-legged friends can try out the wide selection of pet beds before their owners buy.

The appearance of Peggy and Melinda isn’t the only fun planned for the store’s opening weekend.

The first 100 customers on the Friday will receive a free goody bag and every customer will have the chance to spin Jollyes’ ‘Wheel of Fur-tune’ to win prizes. There will be animal-themed stilt walkers for selfies on the Friday, and on Saturday there will be a special appearance by three meerkats – Oreo, Wallace and Otto - from the Swineford Brook animal feeding experience.

Jollyes’ new Swindon store and its team of 12 will be led by Tanya Paterson, who has joined from McColls with a mission to bring the ranges, service and pet care Jollyes is famous for, to town.

The new store will provide pet lovers in Swindon access to Jollyes’ raw food frozen ‘shop-in-shop’ alongside high quality private label pet food such as its own Lifestage, K9 and Rileys brands which offer a premium experience without a big brand price tag.

Jollyes recently outlined an innovative package of benefits for all its colleagues – including those recently recruited for Swindon.

The package includes birthday leave, a ‘pet-eternity’ day for colleagues getting a new pet in the family, a week off on full pay for all colleagues when they get married, enhanced maternity and paternity leave and an enhanced 20 per cent discount off all Jollyes services.

The opening of the new Swindon store – its 91st in the UK - is part of an ambitious expansion plan which has seen the company exceed £100m turnover in FY2023, employ over 1000 colleagues and put it well on the way to having 100 stores within the next 12 months.

Jollyes will also open its 92nd store on Boucher Road, Belfast, on the same day.