About Us

Herbert joined us unexpectedly during a patio job and quickly appointed himself Chief Patio Inspector. He took his responsibilities very seriously, moving slowly across the newly finished area while checking every detail at his own pace.

Not the fastest member of the Calico site team, but certainly one of the most thorough. After completing his inspection, Herbert was carefully relocated somewhere a little safer — away from boots, tools and wheelbarrows.

Skye was our four-legged supervisor during a painting and decorating project on Hayling Island, where we also renovated a small downstairs cloakroom. Always nearby to keep an eye on progress, Skye made sure nobody was left working alone for too long.

With regular inspections of the decorating, tools and freshly finished rooms, Skye took the role very seriously — although most of the supervision seemed to involve finding the best place to sit and watch everyone else work.

Connie is the newest four-legged member of one of our long-standing customer families, arriving after the much-loved Tammy sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Still a young puppy, she’s already taken naturally to the role of Calico site supervisor.

She kept a close eye on us while we tidied up the decking and prepared for some flooring to be replaced — although, being a puppy, we suspect her inspections were driven just as much by curiosity as quality control.

Bertie is a soft brown Shih Tzu who looks far more like a plush teddy bear than a site supervisor — although his surprisingly stocky build suggests otherwise.

His main responsibility is apparently doorstep security. Bertie will happily bark over just about any noise, and while his owner takes their time getting to the door, he makes absolutely certain we haven’t forgotten that somebody is on the other side waiting to be let in.

Small, fluffy and impossible to ignore, Bertie takes his warning duties very seriously.

He rarely makes it out on site visits, preferring to supervise operations from home, and these days age has very much caught up with him. Whether he is genuinely deaf and blind or simply choosing to ignore everyone is still open to debate.

Either way, Buddy remains very much part of the Calico family — even if his contribution is now mostly moral support from a comfortable distance.

Otto and Boris were two much-loved German Shorthaired Pointers who became familiar faces on Calico jobs over the years.

They saw plenty of projects, more than a few late nights, and had a special talent for making themselves part of whatever was going on. Whether that meant wrapping themselves around the tools, lying exactly where somebody needed to work, or simply getting under everyone’s feet, they were never far from the action.

Both have sadly passed away now, but they’re remembered very fondly as part of the Calico site team and for the character they brought to so many jobs.

Plushwell — or Holly the Collie, as she’s known to some — has always been one of the good ones. A familiar face around the driveway and on site, she’s never been short of encouragement either, usually accompanied by one of her owner’s legendary phrases: “Veeeeery good dog,” “iiiiiiin you goo,” or, after a particularly energetic day, “she’s emptied both barrels today.”

Always friendly and always keen to be involved, Holly has been a genuinely helpful little companion on plenty of visits over the years.

She’s getting older now, and arthritis has started to make things harder on her joints, but she’ll still make the effort to come out and greet you on the driveway. That alone says everything you need to know about her.

Goatey was one of the more unusual members of the Calico site team, joining us while we were working on a house in Warsash.

He was incredibly nosey and would regularly appear at the front door trying to work out what we were doing — and, given half a chance, would have happily wandered straight inside to supervise the job himself.

Despite all the curiosity, he was wonderfully gentle and always managed to make everyone laugh. Definitely not the most conventional site visitor we’ve had, but easily one of the funniest.

Arty was one of the quieter members of the Calico site team. A shy cat from Hayling Island, he was rarely seen while the tools were going and usually preferred to keep a safe distance from all the noise.

Once things settled down, though, Arty would slowly appear and eventually let us make friends with him. When he did, we discovered just how incredibly fluffy he was — well worth waiting for.

Cocoa joined us on a recent tiling job and was a brilliant little character — a Jack Russell and Chihuahua cross with far more confidence than size.

He spent plenty of time charging around the garden after birds, occasionally launching himself several feet into the air despite having absolutely no chance of catching one. Indoors, he contributed to the job in his own way by leaving a generous coating of hair across the freshly worked floor.

Thankfully, Cocoa was also extremely cuddly and very happy to be picked up, so he was forgiven pretty quickly.

We never actually found out this gentleman’s name, so Decking Dog it is.

We spent virtually the entire job outside, so we didn’t get much opportunity to learn about his personality. What we do know is that once the decking was finished, he climbed aboard, sat himself proudly in position and gave the whole thing what looked very much like an official final inspection.

We took that as certification that the job was complete.

Newton made a surprise appearance while we were lifting and relaying some decking after replacing the structure underneath.

Hidden away beneath the boards, he had apparently been quietly supervising the job from below the entire time. Once discovered, work briefly stopped for an unexpected wildlife inspection before Newton was carefully moved somewhere safe and considerably less likely to be covered back up by a deck.

Small, silent and probably our least demanding site supervisor to date.

Tammy was our much-loved King Charles Spaniel and one of Calico’s longest-serving site supervisors. Never far from the action, she was always there to keep everyone company — usually while giving out far more kisses than anyone had asked for.

Her constantly wagging tail seemed to have a mind of its own and quite often appeared to control her back legs too, giving her a wonderfully wobbly way of getting around whenever she was excited.

Tammy sadly passed away in 2024, but she’ll always be remembered as part of the Calico family and as one of our very best four-legged supervisors.