Our Story
Chelsea's home for small dogs — and now a pub in the South Downs where they holiday.
Est. 2021
How It Began
Founded in 2021, King's Dog Daycare began with a simple idea: to create a warm, welcoming space where dogs and their owners could relax, connect, and feel at home in the heart of Chelsea.
We're Nick and Charlie, lifelong dog lovers who grew up with dogs always close by. After moving to London, we realised how much we missed the everyday joy they bring, and caring for local pups felt like the perfect way to bring that back into our lives. What started as a small passion project quickly grew thanks to the support of our community. With our savings, a lot of hard work, and the help of our Chow Chow, King Louie, King's Dog Daycare came to life.
177 Fulham Road
The Daycare
In 2024 we reached an exciting milestone and moved a few doors down, from 173 to 177 Fulham Road. The larger space means we can now welcome up to 27 of Chelsea's dogs a day into a fully licensed daycare designed for small breeds, with a grooming salon and café on site.
The heart of the daycare is the team: Kate, Masie, Maggie, Jodie, Poppy, Alyson, Saara and Wella. They are, quite simply, incredible — totally dedicated to making every dog's time with us as enjoyable, safe and fulfilling as possible. They know every dog by name, temperament and best friend, and it's their care, day in and day out, that dogs and owners alike have come to trust. In the salon, our extremely talented groomer Reni sends every dog home looking their absolute best.
Worth the detour
And the coffee is worth the detour in its own right: a specialty single-origin Colombian — Rio Grande from Pitalito, in the Huila region — grown at 1,650–1,850 masl and washed-processed, with notes of chocolate, caramel and nuts and a smooth, medium-bodied finish. Grab one at drop-off on your way to work, and head off knowing your dog is in the best of hands until you're back.
A little sass pot
Enter Lyra — and Pet-a-Pooch
A lovely turning point came when a beautiful Pomeranian visited us for grooming. During a chat, the owner mentioned he'd recently welcomed a litter, including a little sass pot in the form of a Lilac Merle pup. One look, and we fell head over paws. Enter Lyra.
Seeing how much happiness King Louie and Lyra brought to everyone who walked through our doors inspired us to create Pet-a-Pooch: 45 minutes spent cuddling, playing and connecting with our gentlest daycare dogs, in small groups, under our team's care. Not everyone who loves dogs can keep one in London, and it turns out there are very few problems a room full of friendly dogs can't improve.
The sessions are wonderful for the dogs too — especially the puppies, for whom this kind of gentle, supervised socialisation with new people is some of the best early experience they can get. And to be clear: dogs only ever take part with their owner's consent. Pet-a-Pooch wouldn't exist without the trust and support of our wonderful clients and their dogs, and it's something we're incredibly proud to offer.
Opening fully this November
The Five Bells
We'd long wanted to give King's a proper boarding establishment — somewhere our dogs could stay overnight to the same standard they're used to by day. Then we found The Five Bells, and it happened to be perfect. An old pub in the village of Buriton, at the foot of the South Downs, we're restoring it as two things at once: a proper village pub with a small, serious menu built around a French rotisserie and a carefully kept cellar of ales, and the country home of King's — a luxury boarding house where our Chelsea dogs holiday while their owners do the same.
Drop your dog at Fulham Road as usual, and we'll chauffeur them down to the countryside ourselves. Their days are built around gorgeous walks through the South Downs, with the same standard of care they're used to at King's — and photo updates to you throughout their stay. There's a grooming salon there too, and once a month we roll out the projector for outdoor cinema in the garden — dogs welcome, naturally.
For owners who'd like something more than snapshots, we offer an opt-in photography service: your dog professionally photographed over the course of their stay — on the walks, in the garden, mid-adventure — capturing them at their natural best, without the hassle of coordinating a photoshoot. You come home to a holiday album worth framing.
Thank You
Thank you for being part of our story so far. We're incredibly grateful for the community that's grown around King's, and we can't wait to welcome many more dogs — and people — through our doors, in Chelsea and in Buriton.
Nick, Charlie, King Louie & Lyra