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5-star licensed animal businesses in Essex
22 animal businesses in Essex currently hold the maximum 5-star licensing rating, spread across 0 towns and 1 licensing authority.
A 5-star rating means the operator exceeds the statutory guidance standards and has been trading for more than a year with a low risk score. It is the strongest signal a council register gives — but it is a compliance and risk judgement made at inspection, not a measure of how well your particular animal will be looked after. Treat it as a floor to filter on, not a ranking to choose from.
| Business | Town | Council rating | Licence | Expires | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All About Cats | — | ★★★★★ | 21/01004/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| BR Pooches | — | ★★★★★ | 21/00949/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Barehams Kennels | — | ★★★★★ | 23/00919/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Bella Paws | — | ★★★★★ | 21/00989/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Dog Home Boarding In Essex | — | ★★★★★ | 24/00562/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Dog House Hotel | — | ★★★★★ | 21/00991/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Dogtopia Pet Services | — | ★★★★★ | 21/01138/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Essex Pet Services | — | ★★★★★ | 22/01202/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Evelyne's Pampered Pet | — | ★★★★★ | 23/01075/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Happy Pawz | — | ★★★★★ | 21/00963/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Kings Kennels | — | ★★★★★ | 23/00294/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Omshanti | — | ★★★★★ | 23/00199/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Paws and Hooves | — | ★★★★★ | 22/01201/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Posh Dogs Hotel | — | ★★★★★ | 23/01003/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Posh Paws | — | ★★★★★ | 23/00093/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Tanglewood Cattery | — | ★★★★★ | 22/01105/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| The Big Blue Dog | — | ★★★★★ | 21/01160/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Waggietails | — | ★★★★★ | 22/00028/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| We Love Pets Grays | — | ★★★★★ | 21/00698/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| We Take The Lead | — | ★★★★★ | 21/01026/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Whos Doodles | — | ★★★★★ | 22/00668/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
| Woofgang | — | ★★★★★ | 22/00006/LIANI | — | 5 July 2024 |
Star ratings are issued by the licensing authority and combine a risk score with a compliance assessment — they are not customer reviews and we never merge them with one. A new business cannot normally receive 5 stars regardless of quality, and a 2- or 3-star business is still fully compliant with the law. Ratings are reproduced exactly as published by the issuing council.
These are businesses licensed to board animals for payment under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. They are not house sitters. A sitter who stays in your home and cares for your pet there does not need this licence — the licensing regime applies to boarding at the operator's premises, home boarding, day care, breeding, and sale of pets.
Where these figures come from
- Basis
- Listed asking rates, not transacted prices
- Local authority animal activity licence registers — English local authorities. Factual fields extracted from each council's published public register: trading name, licence number, licensable activity, star rating and expiry date. Where a council redacts an address — as they routinely do for home boarders operating from a residential address — the record is kept without a location and never geolocated by inference. Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Refreshed 1 August 2026.
- Postcode geography — Office for National Statistics / Ordnance Survey, via postcodes.io. Postcodes already published in council registers are resolved to a parish or ward and coordinates. Only postcodes the council itself published are looked up. Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Refreshed 1 August 2026.
- Compiled from 1 local authority register. Each entry links back to its issuing council on that council's page.