A man who was made redundant from his job in a factory has switched careers and become a dog walker.
According to the Sunderland Echo, Shane Marsh decided to start the business because of his love for animals.
His firm, called Wags, is run from his house in Peterlee and he offers customers a wide range of services, such as dog walking and acting as a dog chauffeur.
He also acts as a dog butler for owners of the animals, which includes a 30-minute walk, a towel-down and a meal.
"I wondered what to do after being made redundant. But I love dogs and I wondered if I could get into animal care," Mr Marsh, who is 28, told the news source.
A medical problem with his feet had threatened to put an end to his dream of working with animals but he has overcome it after a series of operations.
He had steel rods inserted into both his little toes to fix a "hammer toe" problem, which meant that both of the toes had to be broken.
As well as this, Mr Marsh was left housebound for four weeks while the rods straightened his toes.
Amy Wilson is another person who has started up a business after being made redundant.
According to The Franchise Magazine, she has set up a LPA 4:19 franchise - which offers dance and acting lessons - alongside her mother after she lost her job working in scriptwriting.
She said that she "jumped at the chance" of being self-employed.
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