ALISON LIDDLE gave up work in a busy call centre to be her own boss.

She invested £12,500 in the Barking Mad franchise in November, covering the County Durham area, including parts of Sunderland and Darlington, and is already well on the way to recovering her initial investment.

Barking Mad offers temporary homes to dogs while their owners are on holiday.

It was the idea of Lee Southern, originally from Washington, Tyne and Wear, but who now lives in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria.

She had the idea when she was struggling to find someone to look after her pets when she went on holiday.

Ms Liddle, a 36-year-old mother-of-two, from Sunniside, Tow Law, said: "I was working as a team leader at the Barclays call centre at Doxford, Sunderland, but I really wanted to be my own boss.

"I wanted to do something with animals, but starting my own business from scratch did not really appeal to me.

"Then I read about Barking Mad and it seemed a really interesting idea. I have owned dogs all my life, along with a couple of guinea pigs and cats, so it seemed perfect for me.

"It is also one of the cheapest franchises available, with the price of setting it up including training in all aspects of the work, apparel and livery for my car."

Barking Mad has 16 franchises across the UK. The nearest to Ms Liddle are Edinburgh and Leeds.

She acts as an intermediary for pet owners looking for holiday homes for their pets, and families with the facilities to cater for such needs.

She said: "I currently have around 17 host families, but it is not just a case of placing a dog with the next available family.

"I believe all dogs are different, and I have to make sure the host family is suited to the needs of the dog.

"We tell the dog owners to bring a favourite toy or blanket to the host family, so they feel as much at home as possible.

"Many of the host families are those that would like a dog, or have owned dogs all their lives, and lost their pet, but who do not want to commit again to the full-time responsibility."

But one of the things that most appeals to Ms Liddle about Barking Mad is the flexibility it offers her.

She said: "As a mother of two children, aged 11 and five, running my own franchise gives me the flexibility to organise my own commitments.

"My 11-year-old, Rebecca, even comes with me to pick up and drop off dogs at their owners homes, so in that way its becoming a family business. However, it does sometimes have its drawbacks, when she wants to keep the dogs we are caring for."