A company offering herbal and alternative medicines for pets is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Denes Natural Pet Care was founded in 1951 by Buster Lloyd-Jones, a pioneer in the use of natural therapies for pets. Mr Lloyd-Jones started the company as a mail order business in London but, owing to his own ill-health, he moved his veterinary practice to Hove in the mid-Fifties.

As the world's first qualified veterinary herbalist, he used the treatments in his own practice for more than 30 years before starting up the company. His cures have been used on the pets of the rich and famous around the world as well as being available from vets and pet shops across the country.

Denes was founded at a time when most people regarded herbal medicine, even for humans, as being cranky and faddish. But it soon caught on and is the first choice of medicine for many people's pets.

In 1970, the company was sold by Mr Lloyd-Jones to his close friend Eric Sawyer, father-in-law of the present managing director, Peter Leaney. Mr Lloyd-Jones continued as a consultant and frequently wrote articles in support of natural pet care.

He went on to become a best-selling author with his book, The Animals Came In One By One, about his life as a vet. He died in 1980.

Mr Sawyer brought the company to Brighton, first to Castle Street, then Goldstone Street and later to its present home in Osmond Road.

Denes is now a manufacturer of high-quality pet foods, licensed herbal medicines, herbal supplements and aromatherapy products for cats and dogs. It is still a family-owned business, employing 15 people, including a veterinary nurse who runs a telephone advisory service on treatment with Denes' foods and medicines.

Current popular remedies include: greenleaf tablets, containing nettles to relieve the symptoms of skin problems and arthritis; garlic tablets, which act as a natural antiseptic and repel fleas; and all-in-one tablets, containing herbs to provide iron, vitamin C and other vitamins, minerals and trace elements.