A Test Valley business has received hundreds of pounds after successfully making the move from Germany to the UK.

Keri-An Scarff runs Pickle and Friends, a doggy day-care business which has been awarded a £750 Business Incentive Grant from Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) after making the move from a UK army base in Paderborn to Salisbury Plain.

Councillor Phil Lashbrook, who represents Bellinger Ward, said: “The grant schemes are a great opportunity for new business initiatives in Test Valley, and I wish Keri-An every success in her new doggy day-care business venture.”

TVBC’s £750 Business Incentive Grants have been given for a number of years, with firms including gardeners, electricians and even drone photography receiving the payment over the years.

The grant is available to anyone looking to set up their own full-time business in Test Valley. Anyone who successfully applies for the grant will receive £750 if their business is still going strong six months later.

Keri-An had formerly run a dog boarding service in Paderborn, Germany, where she lived at the time due to the base of British Forces Germany (BFG), formerly the British Army of the Rhine, located there. Following the disbanding of the BFG in 2020, and the relocation of forces to Salisbury Plain, she also relocated her business.

Keri-An regularly looks after dogs from military friends and non-military families, and operates online through a Facebook page and word of mouth. She is licensed for five dogs alongside her own four furry companions.

Keri-An said: “I have worked with animals for many years, horses and dogs alike, gaining qualifications in both fields.”

In the future, she is looking to expand her business to include a secure field for the use of day-care and boarding dogs.

The news follows last month’s awarding of a Business Incentive Grant to a similar business in Andover, the Dogchester Hotel, which provides kennels for dogs while their owners are away.