Taking a glimpse behind the scenes at Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition

Situated five miles from Melton, the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, owned by multi-billion pound company Mars Petcare, is a hub of global scientific research.

Housing about 157 dogs and 345 cats, it’s known for its focus on developing products to provide pets with a healthy and balanced diet.

Its team has also pioneered some of the most important breakthroughs in pet nutrition and health over the last 50 years and has had its results recorded in more than 1,500 publications.

Visiting Waltham for the first time, I was curious to find out more about the day-to-day workings of the research centre – I was also eager to receive a waggy-tailed welcome, which I’d been promised on the tour.

Spread out like a leafy green university campus, the facility is split into four main areas – the main office, dog and cat housing (the Dog’s Trust is believed to have modelled its new Wymeswold rehoming centre on Waltham’s kennels), the laboratory and the national office (the administration hub for Mars UK).

Unlike a normal office, you can expect to bump into a few furry friends on a walk to the nearest coffee machine.

Furthermore employees who work in the national office, are actively encouraged to bring their dogs into work, as research has shown that having pets in the workplace can have a positive impact on reducing stress levels and increasing morale.

Waltham employees, known as associates, also benefit from a newly launched pet-ernity policy whereby they are entitled to 10 hours of paid leave to care for and bond with their new kitten or puppy.

On top of this, the centre also has animal-friendly meeting rooms, where associates can brainstorm their ideas surrounded by cats or dogs.

Sherrie Rowlands, corporate affairs manager for Mars Petcare, said: “We are passionate about pets and having dogs in the office is just one of our policies which promotes our commitment to responsible pet ownership.

“Not only does the presence of a pet in the office give employees common ground to talk about, and bond over, they can also make employees happier which can result in enhanced job performance.”

The facility’s passion for pets extends to the way in which it carries out its research, all of which is conducted in a 100 per cent pet friendly way.

Ralph Merrill, scientific communications executive, explained: “Over the last decade Waltham scientists have researched the impact of key nutrients on the skin and coat condition of dogs.

“In order to do this effectively, the team needed to take skin samples. Working under the caring science approach, they developed a technique of placing a pet-friendly probe against the skin of the dog to measure results and trained dogs to stand still for up to 45 seconds at a time to ensure result accuracy.

“Our caring science approach to research is important to both the staff, as we are all pet lovers, and also the business, as the vision of Mars Petcare is to create a better world for pets and we feel strongly that this should begin with our own pets at Waltham.”

l To find out more about the centre visit www.waltham.com