Meet the Team

Like Kay, I am a practising Nutritional Therapist, mother of two healthy children and owner of two beautiful Shih Tzu dogs - Ollie and Benson. I have loved and owned animals for most of my life and it was through experiencing illness in one of my children and later on, in one of my dogs, that I discovered the importance of complementary medicine and the use of nutrition, homeopathy and supplements, in rebalancing and supporting health. Sometimes improvements in health seen after complementary intervention are seen as ‘placebo,’ but with animals who do not have an imagination as such, I feel it is unlikely that the benefits to their health of a more holistic approach is ‘placebo.’

It was around the time that my beautiful Shih Tzu Maudie developed skin cancer that my interest in a more natural approach to animal health grew. I was fortunate to be educated on the enormous benefits of raw feeding by a very experienced and well informed canine nutritionist Ros Walters and have also observed great health outcomes in my animals after holistic/complimentary veterinary care.

My awareness of the effects of what we eat, drink, apply to our bodies and surround ourselves with, increased enormously during my naturopathic nutrition training. It concerned me greatly that the negative effects of poor food choices, pesticides, toxins, and plastics could not only compromise my family’s health but that of my pets too! And whilst there is much in the environment we cannot control, we can have some control over what we choose to put in the mouths and bodies of ourselves and our pets. Through education and sharing of knowledge, our family members and pets can enjoy better/improved health and I am hoping that the products and information provided in our Healthful Pets website will make a real contribution to this.

Hilary Ritchie - Customer Service and Operations Supervisor

I've worked at Healthful Pets for nearly 4 years now, and during that time I have developed a wealth of knowledge, listening to Kay talk to customers and provide them with product information. Even though I currently do not have any pets myself, I was brought up with Labradors and German Shepherds, and of course, I could not forget Felix, our cat of 19 years! I now look after my friends' Cockapoo, Charlie when she is away on holiday with her family. 

Ellie Twiggs -  Marketing & Customer Services

I joined the Healthful Pets team in 2024 after finishing my BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology with Zoology and moving back from North Wales. I’ve always been passionate about holistic and natural pet care, especially when it comes to my own animals — my horse, Woody, and my two Belgian Malinois X working collies, Della and Sally. Like many pet owners, I’ve sometimes found the sheer choice of natural supplements and products a bit overwhelming — there’s just so much out there! Writing some of our blogs and working with our extensive range of products has helped me build on my knowledge of holistic pet care, and I’m always researching to learn more.