A FAMILY run kennel is close to being crowned as the UK's best for the second year running.

Pawprints Kennel on Pike Farm are so close to the title of Best Kennels and Home Boarding in the 2019 DogFriendly Awards that they only have one more competitor to beat off.

The business, run by Gareth and Anjuli Kershaw, will be going up against Hayloft Pet Services in Worcestershire for the title in the finals on November 2.

The business won Best Kennels in the 2018 awards, and this year the competition was even stiffer as two categories, Kennels and Home Boarding, were merged.

The couple run Pawprints with four members of staff and juggle their work with their two-year-old son Oliver, six dogs, two cats, a parrot and six horses.

Gareth thinks that their facilities are what sets Pawprints above the rest.

They opened their state-of-the-art dog house suites in 2017, after spending two years looking for someone who could carry out their vision.

He said: "We also offer dog TV which has been scientifically proven to calm dogs down and we don't have dog facing rooms to make it quieter and less anxious for dogs.

"Our biggest selling point is that we take lots of pictures – some people think kennels are dark and depressing places that make their dogs sad.

"The pictures show that their pets are happy and having fun, we also have a Yappy Hour so dogs can play with each other."

Owners are asked whether their dogs are sociable when they're dropped off, but staff carry out a temperament test before allowing dogs to interact with each other.

The couple are looking forward to attending this year's ceremony, as they had to cancel last year's trip the day before the awards when Oliver fell ill.

Pawprints was founded by Anjuli in 2010, with Gareth joining the company in 2016.

The kennels can hold up to 53 dogs, but normally only has 35-45 dogs each week.