A DOG trainer from Wrexham was among the Welsh female business owners celebrated at an event in Whitehall, London.

Some of Wales' most successful female entrepreneurs were invited by Simon Hart, the Secretary of State for Wales, for a get together to celebrate those successes.

One of those was Karen Boyce, who runs the Beastly Thoughts Professional Dog Services in the Llangollen/Wrexham area.

READ MORE: Fron dog trainer Karen celebrates back-to-back wins at Crufts

She said: "I am very proud to say that I think because of our huge successes over the last two years and our innovative approach to dog training we were picked out for the event.

“I really would like to thank Simon Hart and the Welsh Government for the opportunity to meet and to be able to chat with so many friendly and motivated women. Hopefully we will be meeting up again soon.”

Karen, originally from Shrewsbury but now living in Froncysyllte, has been helping families and their pets for nearly 30 years, and her business will celebrate its 15-year anniversary this year.

The 58-year-old explained that their puppy classes were a good example of how they had adapted over the pandemic.

The Leader:

PIC: Karen Boyce with Evie.

Karen added: “Pre pandemic, in 2019 we had 170 puppies sign up to our Puppy School programme. For 2020 we reached the awesome total of 220! And last year we were flabbergasted to have signed up 250 puppies.

“Plus when the first lockdown come along we were unable to do any face-to-face classes so we had to quickly innovate and create online training platforms in partnership with running classes via Zoom!

“When outdoor meetings with one person finally became possible we invented a new service for that opportunity to train too; our Walk and Learn service. It proved immensely popular and successful and is now still available and is just as popular.

“I am very proud of the business and the team when I look back and see how we coped and grew during what was a pretty torrid time.”

Karen also owns the Awesome and Rawsome Pets shop in Froncysyllte, selling premium food and products selected for health benefits and eco friendliness.