The team have had a busy summer! It’s been a fantastic season holding our Pitstops and being out and about meeting our wonderful Dorset Dogs community. We’ve had so many positive conversations about dog walking in a wildlife-friendly way – thank you to everyone for your support!
A summer of events
We also met lots of new faces (and waggy tails!) at the events we attended this summer. The most recent was the Dorset County Show, where we spoke to nearly 200 people and their dogs! Our tennis ball tombola was a big hit with the dogs visiting our stand, and plenty of great prizes were won.
Other events we attended included Bark in the Park, Margaret Green Country Dog Show, the Bourne Free Dog Show, and Avon Heath Wildlife Day. We had an absolute blast at every one of them – a massive thank you to everyone who came to say hello!
Summer Campaign – Follow Our Lead
A BIG thank you to Dorset Heaths Seasonal Wardens, Sophie and Jordan for helping to promote our Summer Campaign at local campsites near to heathland and forest . Our campaign highlights how visitors to Dorset can enjoy and explore the countryside and make small changes that make a real difference to our special wildlife and habitats.
Sophie and Jordan talked with campsite owners and provided our Summer Campaign #FollowOurLead posters with messages from the dogs of Dorset on our Doggy Do Code.
Dorset Dogs Professional Dog Walkers’ Charter
In the summer of last year we launched our Professional Dog Walkers’ Charter. Professional dog walkers alongside eight land managing partners of the Dorset Heaths Partnership teamed up with Dorset Dogs to review and endorse a best practice checklist for responsible dog walking businesses.
All professional dog walkers working in Dorset are being encouraged to adopt the best practice standards set out in the Charter. In doing so they will operate in a professional manner following industry best practice, and consider the care, welfare and behaviour of the dogs they look after while minimising their impact on the wildlife of Dorset’s coast and countryside. We’re really pleased to report that we now have over 50 businesses signed up!
Dawn and Hobbs first Dorset Dogs summer season
We were excited to welcome our new Project Officer, Dawn, and her dog Hobbs to the Dorset Dogs team. They’ve had a fantastic start, enjoying the beautiful dog walks Dorset has to offer and meeting the local dog-walking community. Hobbs has especially loved exploring the new SANG at Wild Woodbury and splashing around at Upton Country Park!
