About Pet Poppins Hebburn
Trusted Pet Sitting
From caring for people to caring for pets.
Pet Poppins was created by Jane Wheatley, bringing together a lifelong love of animals with over 20 years of professional care experience in the NHS.
Based in Hebburn and covering South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, the North East and Northumberland, Pet Poppins offers a calm, reliable and compassionate pet sitting service designed to give both you and your pets complete peace of mind.
Meet Jane, Hebburn Pet Sitter
A background built on care, trust and understanding
Jane qualified as a mental health nurse in 2004 and spent more than two decades working within the NHS, supporting people through a wide range of challenges.
Her role involved home visits, managing individual care needs and building strong, trusting relationships with clients and their families.
These skills transfer naturally into pet care.
Understanding behaviour, recognising changes, staying calm under pressure and providing reassurance are all essential when caring for animals — especially when their owners are away.
Why Choose Pet Poppins For Your Furry Friends
Why Pet Poppins was created
Alongside her nursing career, Jane has always loved animals and regularly cared for pets belonging to friends and family.
Over time, it became clear that there was a real need for a more personal, trustworthy and professional approach to pet sitting — something that goes beyond simply “looking after” animals.
Pet Poppins was created to offer exactly that.
A service where pets are cared for in their own home, with patience, attention and genuine understanding.
Care in the place your pets feel safest
Every pet is different, but one thing remains the same, they are happiest in familiar surroundings.
That’s why Pet Poppins focuses on in-home care.
Whether it’s a short visit, an overnight stay or longer support while you’re away, your pets stay in their own environment, following their normal routine.
This helps to reduce stress and ensures they remain relaxed, comfortable and well cared for.
At the same time, you can feel reassured knowing your home is also being looked after.
A personal and caring approach
Pet Poppins is built on trust, reliability and genuine care.
Jane takes the time to get to know each pet, understanding their personality, habits and needs so that care can be tailored to suit them.
You will always have the opportunity to meet Jane before any service begins, giving you confidence that your pets are in safe and capable hands.
Regular updates can also be provided while you’re away, so you can relax knowing everything is going smoothly at home.
Your peace of mind matters
When choosing someone to care for your pets, trust is everything.
Pet Poppins Hebburn gives you peace of mind because:
Fully insured pet sitting services | DBS checked for your reassurance | Member of NARPS UK | Reliable, professional and flexible care
Jane continues to maintain her professional standards and brings that same level of responsibility into every home she visits.
Featured in the Shields Gazette
Jane’s journey from a 21-year NHS career to launching Pet Poppins was featured in the Shields Gazette.
The article highlighted her passion for caring, her experience working in people’s homes, and her goal of providing a trusted alternative to kennels.
I’ve put my 21-year NHS career on pause to launch my Hebburn-based pet sitting business
By Gareth Crickmer
Published 17th Jan 2026
A mental health nurse in South Tyneside is aiming to reign with cats and dogs – after swapping careers to become a pet nanny.
Jane Wheatley, 53, has put a 21-year NHS career to one side to open her Hebburn-based business – Pet Poppins.
The name is a play on the fictional character Mary Poppins, celebrated in films and on stage for her magical powers of looking after people, and Jane believes her experience of working in the mental health sector is transferable into her new role with pooches and felines.
She says her knowledge of what makes people tick will add to her already strong empathetic insight into animals.
She also says her engagement skills – developed by two decades working with clients and fellow health professionals – will reassure owners their pets are in good hands while under her care.
Her business aims to specialise in at-home support, in which she visits or stays at clients’ homes to provide care for hours, days or even weeks.
She said:
“I qualified as a mental health nurse in 2004 and have thoroughly enjoyed my career and what was a very challenging role.
“I have also always loved animals, often looking after those in my extended family or belonging to friends, and so Pet Poppins seemed like the right thing to be doing.”
She added:
“A few years ago, I did think about switching to pet sitting, but it was only recently a friend who dog walks assured me that there was a gap in the market for a pet sitter.
“I’m fully insured with the relevant industry body, and I’ve just spent two weeks over Christmas looking after two dogs and three cats at a property in Lincolnshire.
“The idea is that I go into a client’s home and care for their beloved pet.
“As well as the animals getting my full attention, the owner knows their home is also being very well looked after.”
“My business’s name is a play on Mary Poppins. People have previously said that I’m a bit like Mary Poppins, in the way I like to look after people.”
Jane worked for the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
She specialised in offering support via home visits and clinic-based work, and she managed a client caseload.
While she plans to keep her nursing qualifications up to date and to continue doing some part-time NHS shifts, she is aiming for Pet Poppins to become her full-time job.
Jane added:
“I have had some lovely reviews already about my pet sitting work and I’m hoping the business will be a big success.
“I love spending time with animals and to care for their needs, I love doing the walks and giving them lots of cuddles.
“The service I provide means owners do not have to put their animals into kennels when they want to get away on holiday.
“I love caring for a pet in another person’s home, it’s very satisfying to be spending time doing that.”
