About Us
Mcgrumpy and Snuffles is an Aylesbury based small business. You can visit our shop at Unit 8, Duck Farm Court, Station Way, HP20 2SQ. We normally open at 10am Monday to Friday, 9am on Saturday, with Sunday openings in November and December or for pre-booked appointments. We are raw feeding specialists and offer free raw food advice and planning. Please contact us to ensure a qualified member of staff is available for your planned visit.
Here at Mcgrumpy and Snuffles we specialise in high quality and hard to find pet toys. Many of our ranges are recommended by vets and behaviourists around the world. We only stock products which we feel enable animal owners to get the best value durable products for their pets. We pride ourselves on being able to source products for customers that aren’t normally available – tracking down remembered toys or treats to deal with specific dietary requirements
We stock a wide variety of natural treats including baked treats, meat treats from UK and EU herds and a selection of premium packaged treats. We stock treats compatible with dogs on a raw (BARF) diet. We avoid products which contain high levels of additives and chemicals or which are not produced in an environmentally conscious manner.
We offer a direct relationship with our customers, either by meeting them at Kennel Club show and other events or by engaging with them via social media. We are happy to look for specific products a customer might require – be it a remembered toy or a specific type of food. We will shortly be opening a space that customers can bring their dogs to in order to discuss any issues and enjoy a bespoke shopping experience.
We support charities and organisations that promote happy healthy pets and positive relationships between humans and animals. We promote positive training techniques and products and offer discounts to service animals including search and rescue dogs, police dogs and assistance dogs.
We specialise in international shipping including to far flung places like the Falkland Islands and BFPO. Just contact to discuss this service.
Please note the shop is home to Gargamel, a reformed street cat. He is very dog friendly and happy for dogs to be in the shop with him but just let us know if your dog isn't keen on cats or if you are allergic to cats as he is very happy to retreat to his den for a while.
Awards
2015 Pawscar Finalist in the Best Trade Stand Category
December 2016 Pooch and Mutt Stockist of the month
Why on earth is the business called Mcgrumpy and Snuffles?
To cut a long story short the business is named after a rescued cat called Hamish Half-tail McGrumpy and a rescue hamster called Humphrey Snuffles.
For the long story read on....
Hamish arrived in our life first. He was a beautiful white and grey cat who was discovered outside the National Animal Welfare Trust in Watford with significant intentional injuries. He took the name Hamish because of the shortbread box he was found in.
The staff at NAWT never put a healthy animal down and they did amazing work to heal him with over a year of complex surgeries and treatments including repairing his damaged tail (which inspired his nickname Hamish Hail-tail McGrumpy), removing foreign bodies from under his skin and healing facial injuries. Eventually it was felt that they should try to him a new home before they sent him to their retirement centre as he was still quite a young cat. This wasn’t entirely successful – as a large white disfigured cat it was difficult for people to see beyond injuries, the hair flying everywhere and his obvious (and understandable) trust issues. No one expressed any interest – especially as for most people if you tried to touch him he would lash out.
He had been in the adoption centre for around 6 months and was about to be moved to the retirement centre when we lost our beloved cat Tibbs Tipu Sultana. We missed her so much but as we had adopted her at 15 years old we knew her time with us was to be brief but special. We had decided, after losing a number of pets we had adopted as ‘lost cause seniors’ from the NAWT that we were not going to get another pet so went to the centre to offer them Tipu’s toys, food and bed, hoping that another cat would benefit from them.
We were determined that no cat was going be suitable and that our hearts couldn't stand anymore heartache from another cat . The staff at the centre knew us well however and had different plans. They knew that as experienced owners we had taken cats with various long term health conditions, some very old cats who came for their final moments and with a twinkle (we now see in hindsight) suggested we just have a walk around to choose the cat that would receive Tipu’s bequest. We walked around and rejected every option and sad story confident that they would find loving homes eventually. As we got to the last pen we saw a red sticker indicating poor behaviour. Hamish came to the bars of the pod and meowed loudly as the staff filled us in on his back story. I asked for them to open the door as although he was angry he also seemed sad but curious. I stepped in and stroked Hamish who ran away into the outside section. He looked through the flap at me though so Andrew joined me and we sat down to see if he’d come back. Andrew said ‘Of course we aren’t going to take him, we just want to show him people will be nice’ . ‘He can have Tipu’s things’ I said. ‘Uh huh’ said the lady with a slight laugh. After few minutes Hamish came through and sat on me and rubbed his head on my chin. I fell in love – seeing through the wounds and deformations to the heart that just wanted to love. It wasn’t going to change our plans though – he would just get the gifts and that was that. We had decided. NO MORE CATS.
We got up off the floor and the pod door was closed. As we walked back to the office to formalise that Hamish was to get the toys a few words passed us about how much we missed Tipu but didn’t want another cat. As we walked into the office the lady who had shown them around said ‘So you are taking Hamish then? I’ll get someone to help you put all this back in the car’. I looked at Andrew, Andrew looked at me and then we both said ‘Yes’ and I cried a bit because I'm a soft old pud after all and had missed Tipu so much. A week later he was in a box, in the car, meowing all the way home and within days we knew we had made the right decision. Within weeks he started to relax and show off his personality and within a few months he had wrapped almost everyone he met around his paw. His strange looks led to fairy tales that he has been a pirate and his antics around our home would make a story all of their own. He became known as Hamish Half-tail Mcgrumpy due to a tail injury he's sustained and his 'on my terms' policy towards humans.
Hamish had been with us for about a year when I heard about a large adult Syrian hamster who had been found in a local property when a family moved. He had a cage but had to move that afternoon so that the house could be gutted. I spoke to Andrew and Humphrey Snuffles (so named because of a breathing illness due to the cold house which soon cleared up) was allowed to move in for a few days while another family was found. This never happened. Opps.
When I started my business it seemed natural to name it after our beloved pets and to support the rescue that knew us and Hamish so well. Sadly the Mcgrumpy and Snuffles baton has now passed to Moomin and Womble Hamsdotter, two beautiful ginger Maine Coon cats that I rescued (I was only supposed to get one according to Andrew but something strange happened on the way home and there were two when I got home – who knew? *cough*). Moomin and Womble maintain Hamish and Humphrey’s strict discipline on the staff, shouting when they need food, testing new stock and working hard to support homeless pets and animal charities. They are assisted in their work by Rosie the working Cocker Spaniel and Batfink the Corgi who test toys and snacks for dogs, supported by the many customer dogs who are like extra family to us! We also recently welcomed Gargamel, a rescue cat, to the shop. He's very fond of customer cuddles.
