Elgin business K9 CleanCoats owes its success to spaniel Toto

Aileen Toynton lives in Elgin with her American cocker spaniels Toto and Tara

Here’s what Aileen had to say about Toto:

I was working in a job I hated, but I couldn’t afford to lose that job.

One day in winter 2010, Toto, an American cocker spaniel, ran through a ploughed field after a hare and got dreadlocked in mud.

He had to be hosed outside, wrapped in a towel and run through to the bathroom for a bath and dry.

Aileen with Toto, left, and her other dog Tara at Keith Show.

I was late for work and my boss said to me, ‘not again, not over a dog’.

I tried online to try to find a coat that would cover him up and nothing ever did.

They all cover a dog’s back. Then if I got one that had legs, the legs were either OK but it was hanging off his bum or it didn’t have legs but it fitted his back.

A very scruffy Toto – exactly the scenario that caused Aileen to design her own dog coats.

I thought the only way around this is to try to make something myself. I had no money, I was a single girl in a pretty lowly job.

I was buying all this remnant fabric and pinning it on him every weekend, trying to find something that fitted and walking him in it because I had to see if these things worked.

Folks used to ridicule me down the park about what I was putting my dog in.

Here I am 14 years down the line. I’ve got a business – K9 CleanCoats – and I send these all over the world from Tasmania to Canada to Mexico. The business has moved on. I still make the dog coats because there are still mucky wet dogs out there.

‘Working’ cockers Toto and Tara at K9 CleanCoats in Elgin.

But five years ago, Toto was very ill after he had dental treatment under general anaesthetic at the vets and I nearly lost him.

He was very ill and about a year on his teeth were as bad as ever again.

A friend told me about this German ultrasonic toothbrush.

It was a lot of money. I hummed and hawed about it but I could see his teeth were getting worse.

I couldn’t put him under general aesthetic again so I bought one of these fancy toothbrushes from Germany.

And it worked! It’s cleaned his teeth. They are lovely. Toto is nearly 15 years old and he has teeth like Cliff Richard.

Aileen cleaning Toto's teeth with an ultrasonic toothbrush. — Aileen cleaning Toto’s teeth with an ultrasonic toothbrush.

So I thought, I’m going to add these to my website because I have lots of repeat customers and lots of folk know and trust me so I can say to them, look, I use this, it’s brilliant.

Then a couple of years ago I was at a dog show and I saw a stroller with a grooming table on the top.

Dog show people are used to having to carry everything in from the car park. You have a crate and your bag and grooming equipment and by the end of the show your arms are falling off.

With this you just put the dog in and your kit and kaboodle on the top and off you go. I’m selling those all over the world.

For more information visit K9CleanCoats.co.uk or

facebook.com/K9CleanCoats

or Instagram @k9_cleancoats.