BURN while you EARN!

Meet the three women who made work a workout...

- KAREN EVENNETT

My furry clients keep me on my locs

Alex Blamire, 45, from Hove, East Sussex, has managed to create a win-win business

'When my husband Russell and I were choosing a dog, I was determined to pick an energetic breed that could keep up with our active lifestyle. Charlie, a beagle, could go the extra mile, tail wagging all the way. And that was fine for weekends and holidays but during the week, when we were at work, he had to put up with a one-hour walk with me before I left for the office. It wasn't really enough for him- and it turned out to be too little for me, too.

Even though I'd been striving to achieve 10,000 steps a day, when I hit 40 I noticed my metabolism starting to change. My fresh and healthy diet and walking had always been enough, but now I was beginning to feel slovenly. I signed up for a boot camp in our local park and started exercising daily. And within weeks, Russell was commenting that I looked tiny. Though my weight hadn't shifted much on the scales, I'd really toned up. But there was no such boot camp for Charlie! When I looked into what local dog walkers could offer, there were basically two choices: a one-hour walk, which I was already able to do, or full doggy day-care, during which I could imagine Charlie lounging in one corner of a field rather than running around.