Our team

Kennel Assistants

The role of Kennel Assistant is a varied and rewarding one. We expect that our guests are cared for as if they were at home. Each and every animal is made to feel comfortable and an enormous effort is made by our team to make the visit as enjoyable, rewarding and as stress free as possible. Often our guests are frightened of a new environment; it is the Kennel Assistants role to look after their welfare whilst they are with us from cleaning, grooming, walking and feeding or just a cuddle. Kennel Assistants work under the supervision of our Kennel Manager, Sarah & long standing Kennel Supervisor, Fay. There is a high degree of cleaning in this role including cleaning the kennels, steam cleaning and keeping the general cleanliness of the kennel & cattery environment to a high standard.
The duty kennel staff are supported by our Securitas Operations Management team who have over 94 years kennel management & training experience between the 3 of them.

Andy Ackers

Securitas Canine Services Operations & Courses Manager

Andy brings vast dog handling experience to the Chalkwell team. He joined the RAF in 1988 as an RAF Policeman specialising as a Police Dog Handler. During his service he completed operational tours as a Drug Detection search dog handler with Specialist Police Operations, and as an Arms and Explosive Search Dog Handler in Gibraltar, supporting HM Forces and Special Branch Police operations.

He also served 2 tours at the Defence Animal Centre, the British Armed Forces centre of excellence for training working dogs, as both trainer and instructor, delivering specialist search dogs and handler courses. Conducting the role of Project/Operations Manager, he specialised in developing several canine Counter IED projects for Afghanistan, delivering canine and personnel training to ensure handling capability prior to operational deployments.