SOME 23 jobs have been created in Cowley with the opening of a new pet shop this Friday.

Pets at Home will open in Templars Retail Park for pet-loving residents and their furry friends across the area.

More than 200 applications were received for just 23 new positions at the store, which occupies the former B&Q shop.

Area manager Alison Miller said: “Pets at Home is committed to recruiting from the local area and I’m pleased we’ve found a team of talented individuals in Cowley.

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“They’re all extremely passionate about pets and can’t wait to get started.”

The new addition to the Between Towns Road shopping park will be the second Pets at Home store in Oxford.

Ms Miller said: “There was a strong demand from Cowley pet owners for Pets at Home to come to town and we’re very pleased to have been able to grant them their wish.”

The store’s new team are now hoping residents will support their chosen charity of the year, Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary.

The Stadhampton-based charity cares for abandoned animals across the county.

New store manager Vikki Philpot said: “They are in desperate need of support.

“They help so many different animals, they don’t just limit themselves to cats and dogs.

“They work tirelessly and they are so positive in the community.

“For me it was a no-brainer that we support this charity in Cowley.”

Miss Philpot, who has just moved from a store manager role in Luton, Bedfordshire, said she had spent the past month training the new Cowley team at the pet supplier’s Botley Road store.

She added: “It’s been a busy few months and now my team and I can’t wait to open the doors and welcome our new customers and their pets to the store.”

Pet owners will see a Vets4Pets practice within the £300,000 store, which will include a full operating theatre, digital X-ray facilities and laboratory.

It will include a hospital ward providing animals with a host of treatments including health checks and emergency operations.

The new store will include a grooming parlour and an adoption centre, where small animals including rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters will be cared for until a new home is found for them.

Additional departments include an aquatic centre, reptile centre and pet village.

Residents are invited to pop along to the store’s opening this Friday from 9am.

The Lord Mayor of Oxford, Mohammed Abbasi, will open the shop before festivities, including face painting and balloons, begin.

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