About Us

I’ya!

I'm Lucy Thompson (Nee Clark), the owner and creator of 'That Dog Shop', which includes our physical Beverley store (Oh My Dog), online store 'thatdogshop.co.uk', Tiktok shop @thatdogshop.co.uk and our own brand of dog apparel 'Westwood Dog Co'. I'm the youngest of 3 Sisters and born and bred in Hull, East Yorkshire.

I guess this is where I talk a little bit about myself and our small business? I'm not one to really talk about myself but here goes! *deep breath*. Grab a brew cause this might take a while!

Before launching our shop Oh My Dog in 2021 I was a radio presenter for BBC Radio Humberside - Oh My Dog! Bit of a career change eh? You'd be right for thinking that! But here's a little background info that might help make sense of the shift!

My earliest memory of work is probably spending my Summer Holidays sitting behind my Mum & Dads stall in Hulls Trinity indoor market. They owned and operated the largest stall on the market, 'Clarks Tools & Hardware'. Nestled amongst a variety of stalls owned by other family members, I would spend half term breaks skipping between each of them. It was probably Hulls Trinity Market where I served my first ever customer at around the grand old age of 5.

Fast forward a few years and my parents stall had evolved into a physical shop. Chanterlands DIY in Hull was (and still is) at the heart of a bustling Chanterlands Avenue. Supplying local residents with all their DIY and hardware needs. Owned and operated by my Dad for almost 30 years. For an independent business to be running for so long in itself speaks volumes. After seeing other businesses come and go during that time, Chanterlands DIY was always a permanent fixture. It felt as though it had just always been there. As had my Dad.

Within this time my Mum also owned and ran a pet shop opposite my Dads (they could wave at each other through the window, although I'm sure some days a wave wasn't the only hand gesture haha!). My school and college half term breaks were then often filled with shifts between each of the shops which I loved.

As well as giving me a great work ethic, it gave me confidence and a sense of hard graft that can’t be taught in any school syllabus. I took those life lessons on through various job roles as I grew up. Including my 4 1/2 years at BBC Radio Humberside.

As a presenter my favourite part of the role was always meeting new people and hearing their stories. I would interview many new business owners on air and be in awe of their ability to take a risk and follow their dreams of setting up a new business.

The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic gave many people the opportunity to reflect on life. Working from home and not being able to see loved ones encouraged many to reassess what was important. Being a freelance presenter I found myself with a lot more free time on my hands too. Apart from my weekend presenting programmes, during the week my shifts had dried up due to the pandemic which meant I spent a lot of time with the apple of my eye, our cocker spaniel Lily.

Being from a family of independent business owners (including my 2 Sisters but more on that in a sec), I’d felt that I always had it inbuilt in me that I too would love to go down that route but I wanted it to be revolved around something that I was 100% passionate about. Having more free time enabled me to sit and ask myself seriously, ‘What IS my passion?!’ And there she was. Puppy dog eyed and waggy tailed, this little working cocker was (and still is) my absolute world.

I spent many days, weeks and months researching my own brand of dog harnesses, leads, collars and accessories. The name ‘Oh My Dog’ came to me almost immediately after the cogs started turning on a potential new doggy business, almost as if a light switch had been flicked I just knew this was the route I needed to go down. Oh My Dog! That’s IT!

I clearly remember the evening that I told my husband Gary what I was thinking of doing and being the ever supportive and encouraging man that he is, we spent one Friday night brainstorming and registered our business with companies house there and then (a few glasses of wine may have been involved).

Many more weeks of research took place whilst I finalised the first Oh My Dog Collection. The initial idea was to launch the business online which would then enable me to carry on working on the radio whilst running the online business. Then things changed.

As previously mentioned, I have 2 older sisters, Donna and Eve. Donna owns The Beverley Card Company, a card and gift shop on Dyer Lane in Beverley, Eve owns Vivienne Rose, the interior and wallpaper shop also on Dyer Lane in Beverley. Shortly after registering our business Eve sent me an online link to an old building that was up for let on Dyer Lane. Formerly The Old Beverley Bookshop. It was an old listed building that had been occupied floor to ceiling with books for around the past 35 years. It was old, riddled in damp, dark, dreary but now available. I was interested.

Could Oh My Dog be more than just an online business? With my upbringing being surrounded by independent business owners and having 2 Sisters already on the same street could I really throw my everything into opening an actual physical shop?!

If covid has taught me anything over the past few years it’s that life is too short. We don’t know what’s around the corner and for that reason sometimes you have to take a risk in life. I was up for taking that risk.

After signing the lease and many days spent pulling 70’s cladding off dark damp walls and thinking ‘what have I done?’ we finalised a business plan. Not only did I want Oh My Dog to be filled with our own brand but also wanted to incorporate other small independent family businesses. I spent months researching other small businesses that specialised in treats, toys, accessories and gifts for both humans and hounds that I felt would sit well alongside the Oh My Dog range and brands that weren’t yet represented in the East Yorkshire area. I wanted to offer something different.

The renovation of 2 Dyer Lane was not an easy one! After many weeks of hard graft and working alongside contractors, some of which gave up half way through (that was a laugh!) we finally opened our doors in July 2021. On the morning of opening, I was an absolute bag of nerves. This wasn’t like the first day in a new job, this was my first day in a new life and I haven’t looked back.

Now in our 3rd year and we've launched our new online store, a Tiktok shop and our own brand of dog apparel 'Westwood Dog Co', which is now available to the wholesale market! 

The hours are 24/7, holidays are few and far between, it’s exhausting, mentally draining and the days of chatting away into a microphone in a cushy radio studio seem a million miles away from me now but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

It sounds cliché but my advise to anyone thinking of setting up on their own would be to follow your dreams, take that risk because life is just too short to live with regrets. 

If you've made it all the way to the end of this spiel without falling asleep then congratulations! I told you it could take a while! But hopefully now you have a little more background info on how our shop Oh My Dog, and our online store 'That Dog Shop' was born.

Thanks go to my ever supportive husband Gary and my working cocker spaniel, my inspiration, Lily. You are my world.

Lots of woof,

Lucy

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