Petwise Zoo is a family run business. Owned by Sarah and Chris, the Zoo has a friendly, fun atmosphere wherever it goes!

Sarah Potter, Owner

Sarah has worked with animals for ten years and has had animals all her life. Sarah has worked for the RSPCA, Farm Parks and Pet shops. She has qualifications in Animal Care, Animal Behaviour and Psychology, Canine Behaviour And Training, Pet Store Management, A-Level Biology and Health And Safety.

Five years ago Sarah set up in business for herself, buying the town centre pet shop - her first place of employment that led her on the road to animal care. Sarah turned the pet shop into a successful business with a great reputation. The pet shop has rehomed numerous animals, many of which seemed to find a place at Sarah's home! Sarah's animal collection grew and she started to take some of the animals to children's clubs, schools, etc. Soon the animal collection had become that large, she decided they needed to pay for themselves and Petwise Zoo began.

Sarah decided the main aim of the Zoo was to give people a chance to interact with animals they might not meet elsewhere. The Zoo would provide a fun, yet informative experience in the hope that people will learn to appreciate animals more and learn how to care for their own pets better.

Chris Potter, Owner

Chris is Sarah's husband and, like Sarah, Chris was brought up around animals and has had a keen interest in them all his life (A good job, as he lives with 150 of them!). Chris manages the Zoo behind the scenes. He maintains the animal enclosures, invents new ways of keeping them entertained, preparing the winter and summer quarters, designs and contructs new enclosures, helps manage the animal breeding programmes and attends Zoo visits.

Liam Watters, Zoo Staff

Liam is Sarah's cousin. Liam has worked for Petwise for four years. It must be in the family genes because Liam too has a keen interest in animals. He prefers the slimy to the fluffy as he has reptiles as his pets. He can always be found in the Zoo Safari Tent handling the giant snakes, lizards and tarantulas. Liam is a natural when it comes to working with animals and the public. Easy to talk to and happy to answer any questions. Liam is at university studying forensics and shall be attending zoo visits during the holidays.

Garreth Hawkins, Zoo Staff + Webmaster

Garreth is Sarah's cousin. He has worked for Petwise for five years. Brought up around animals, like Liam, he simply fell into the family business! Animals have always been in the family and Garreth is naturally confident around all types of animals. Garreth not only works for the Zoo, but is also the webmaster. He helps to maintain and design the website. A university student studying financial economics in the week, but a Zoo worker in the holidays! 

Mark Potter, Zoo Staff

Mark is Chris's brother and has worked for Petwise for two years. Mark's family too have always kept animals and Mark has been brought up with reptiles, birds, rodents, cats, dogs and many other animals (too many to list!). Mark once did have a fear of snakes, but had to quickly get over it when starting work at Petwise Zoo! Now confident at handling all types of animals, Mark makes an excellent member of our team. Mark is at college studying Web Design - a skill that we shall definitely be making use of!

Wayne Hawkins, Zoo Staff

Wayne is Sarah's uncle and has worked for Petwise  since the May 2009. He is a full time member of staff who not only attends the zoo visits during the week, but also helps manage the zoo behind the scenes. He carries out general animal husbandry and helps Chris build new animal enclosures. He is a competant animal trainer who socialises the new animals, getting them used to new noises and environments ready for the zoo trips. He helps to rehabilitate rescued animals, carrying out daily health checks and improving their condition. His favourite animals are our three rescued iguanas!