A beloved small ‘doggy daycare’ business in South Oxfordshire, ‘Pawfect Playdays’, is facing imminent closure after being given an unexpected and overwhelming bill for backdated business rates, a decision that the owners say will end their 4-year journey of caring for dogs and serving their community.
Pawfect Playdays is well-known by the local community and across Oxfordshire for providing dog socialisation, enrichment and behaviour modification for reactive dogs. This wonderful learning environment provides a vital service for local families whose dogs experience chronic loneliness when the owners are at work, or have behavioural issues around other dogs, children or the public.
Pawfect opened its doors in December 2021 with the understanding (based on guidance received at the time) that business rates would not apply to the land and building they were using. This understanding was formed after diligent checks and through no fault of their landlord, who had been equally unaware that rates might be added in the future.
A centre user writes:
“Boba, my rescue dog, is naturally wary, slow to trust, suspicious of humans, and quick to bolt when unsettled. Discovering Pawfect has been a blessing. They provide Boba with a completely secure environment and their understanding of rescue dogs shines through. Boba is given all the time and space he needs to feel at ease, is cherished for who he is, and is never pushed into uncomfortable situations. The centre’s generous space and welfare priorities make it a unique place for me to drop Boba off, giving me peace of mind that he’s secure, happy, and in very caring, capable hands.“
A devastating financial shock
In May 2024, after nearly four years of Pawfect Playdays’ operation, the centre received a bill from South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) for around £40,000. This calculation was based on SODC’s determination that the centre is liable for full backdated business rates for the entire period since it began.
The sudden demand triggered a prolonged dispute with SODC regarding its small business rate relief eligibility. Pawfect had always believed that the centre qualifies for small business exemption and that the SODC’s disqualification from relief was based on their having mistakenly listed the centre under two separate accounts, neither corresponding to its actual premises.
Following a year of repeated requests, SODC finally corrected the records in early July by removing one of the false accounts from their records. Yet no exemption was granted even after the error was acknowledged.
Instead, SODC revalued the premises at £16,500 a figure which still exceeds the £15,000 rateable value threshold for relief. Pawfect contests the accuracy of this calculation, stating that they have not been correctly categorised for the type of business they run. Furthermore, SODC are upholding a revised backdated charge of £24,000.
SODC is also maintaining that the centre is liable for further business rates going forward, totalling £915 per month (even if the historical debt could somehow be cleared).
For a small, independently run business that prides itself on putting dogs first and operating with care and integrity, the blow has been nothing short of catastrophic to their clients. It has also devastated the team who have invested so much love and dedication to the dogs entrusted to them by the local community.
Gut punch for Pawfect and South Oxon
“We’ve always run the business transparently and with the best intentions. To be told four years later that we suddenly owe tens of thousands of pounds for something we were led to believe didn’t apply to us, it feels like a punch to the gut. We simply don’t have that kind of money sitting around. Like many small businesses, we put everything we earn back into providing the best care possible.”
The team are now making a heartfelt appeal to the public for support, understanding, and advice. In particular, they are questioning the fairness of the financial demands and hoping to raise awareness of what they feel is an unjust system that both fails to support small businesses and will deprive the community of a vital resource that hugely benefits the lives of local families.
A broken system?
The problem, as the team explains, is rooted in how UK business rates are calculated. Rates are typically based on the square footage, not on the income, financial viability or ethics of the business site. Pawfect, like other organisations concerned with animal husbandry, requires open space (with shelter) for dogs to play, rest, and socialise safely.
These needs create a major disconnect between what’s required to run the business ethically and what it’s being charged for. Unlike shops, restaurants and offices, animal welfare organisations require extra space without which the whole purpose of the enterprise is lost. The extra space isn’t for extra revenue but for the essential welfare of the animals.
As a small business, Pawfect has never run at a profit and the staff work at minimum wage. It is essentially a service for the local community and the centre relies heavily on their support.
“It’s not like a retail shop where every square foot is generating sales. Much of our space is open, calm, and purposely not overcrowded. But the rate system doesn’t take that into account. It just sees size, not purpose or reality.”
The team did not take the news lying down.
They made another appeal, citing the sheer financial impossibility of paying such a debt and continuing with such high ongoing rates, but were told that financial hardship alone does not qualify as a valid reason for review.
“It feels like we’re being punished for doing the right thing — for being transparent, for asking for help, for running a business that genuinely cares. It doesn’t seem to matter that this would effectively bankrupt us.”
Not just a business
Pawfect is more than just doggy day care. Since opening, the business has actively contributed to the local community in meaningful and heartfelt ways such as:
- Welcoming SEN students for work experience, providing a safe and supportive environment to learn, grow and build confidence;
- Working with ‘Pets as Therapy’ to help dogs train and prepare for therapeutic roles across the UK;
- Fostering and rehoming dogs in need, offering stability and love during times of transition and difficulty;
- Working with the ‘Pets Blood Bank’ to raise awareness and donations for a charity that uses blood donations from beloved pets to help save other pets in need.
“Our ethos has always been ‘care first’. Whether that’s for the dogs, their owners, or our wider community. It’s all about building trust and making a positive difference. To lose that because of an accounting technicality would be devastating.”
A call for help
In the face of this crisis, Pawfect Playdays has launched a GoFundMe campaign and is turning to the public (as well as journalists, local councillors, and MPs) in the hope of finding a way forward.
They’re asking for donations but also for guidance, advocacy, and awareness. Is it right that a small, honest, community-focused business should be blindsided by charges they were told didn’t apply, and then to be refused any leniency when those charges threaten their survival?
The Pawfect team also noted that:
“If this can happen to us, it can happen to any small business. The rules don’t reflect the reality of running a service-based business where people or, in our case, animals, actually come first.”
What’s next?
Unless they receive support, whether in the form of donations to cover the debt, advice from professionals, or willingness from the local authority to be flexible, Pawfect Playdays may be forced to close its doors in the coming months.
This would mean the loss of a trusted and specialised service for dog owners across the region, the displacement of animals who love their second home, and the loss of opportunities for young people, volunteers, and staff who have built something genuinely meaningful.
“We don’t want to give up. But we can’t fight this alone. If you believe in fairness, in small businesses, in animals being cared for properly, please support us, share our story, and help us stay open.”
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