FOR the right person, this could be the purrfect job.

An luxury kennels and cattery in Oxfordshire is recruiting an apprentice to work with their pampered pets for one year.

The lucky candidate will get to spend their year taking dogs for long walks, making the cats feel comfortable and taking pet selfies to share with their owners on Facebook.

Jan Beaumont, who founded Park Kennels ten years ago with her husband Rob on their farm in Lockinge near Wantage, said they were the first in Oxfordshire to run a kennels with "hotel-style accommodation".

Stays cost £11.50 a day for a cat and £23.95 for a dog.

She said: "It's very different to what people have in their head as a traditional kennels.

"We have wider corridors, the kennels are larger and brighter, with glass walls, underfloor heating and the pets get to sleep in hammock beds."

The business currently has 40 double kennels with room for a total of 80 dogs (pets can share if they are from the same family), and 36 cat "chalets" with room for 80 cats.

The working day starts at 8am when all the dogs are individually taken to the exercise paddock for their first morning run.

Each one is then brought back to their kennel and kept in the kennel's exercise area while their bedroom get a thorough clean.

A hatch is pulled down to separate the bed area from the exercise area.

After the hounds have had their breakfast they then get their morning walk in the picturesque farm fields.

They also get an afternoon walk, after which all the dogs are fed a second time, then get taken out for another run.

Mrs Beaumont, 52, whose three sons also help out in the business, said: "It is very physical but for the dogs there is a lot of human interaction.

"Dogs always like people who walk them, it builds up a bond for the dog and person doing the apprenticeship gets to handle the dogs a lot."

The cats, meanwhile, get seen first thing, again after lunch then again near the end of the day.

On each visit, litter trays get changed, food and water get topped up, medication is administered if necessary and carers make a note of everything that goes in and out of the cat – everything.

Mrs Beaumont said pet owners increasingly medicate their pets and want to make sure they get the same treatment as any other member of the family would.

She said: "An amazing number of dogs have thyroid problems, some have epilepsy, so we need to take care of all those things as well."

The successful apprentice must be 16 or over and must have GCSEs in maths and English.

At the end of their year they will get a Level 2 diploma in animal care.

To find out more email parkkennels@gmail.com or call 01235 772043.