b u l c e n i n a c The Angie Platt set up a dog walking group in Ruthin to give dogs, and their humans, a way to socialise safely after lockdown… When the first lockdown started those of us with dogs, especially young dogs or puppies, shared the same concern – how do we keep our dogs socialised in a world where socialising of any form is cancelled!? Luckily the weather was nice enough to get out daily with the pups after work and introduce them to all the fun sights and smells around us. again, I don’t know who enjoys it more, me or the dogs! Our two puppies turned six months old when the first lockdown started so they missed out on over five months
Once restrictions eased in Wales, it was nearing the end of
of socialising with other dogs as well as humans! So, when
summer and our pups still hadn’t been able to make other
restrictions began to relax a little, I thought it would be a great
four-legged friends! As a human, lockdown was tough
opportunity to get out in the fresh air – in small groups and
enough, and after only recently moving into our village a few
socially distanced of course. My family were shielding for the
months before, it was almost impossible to meet new people.
first lockdown so it’s fantastic to finally be able to socialise Living in a rural area, I only expected ten people at the
WITH THE NUMBER OF DOG THEFTS DURING LOCKDOWN, IT IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT THAT OUR FACEBOOK GROUP IS A PRIVATE AND MONITORED GROUP FOR SAFETY REASONS
most to respond to my Facebook post, but I was incredibly surprised when we quickly gained hundreds of members! Our first dog walk was August Bank Holiday and we had 29 humans and 30 dogs! We made sure everyone was social distancing throughout and it was so much fun to meet all the dogs, as well as their owners! We did three walks that weekend and “the rest is history”, as the saying goes. The club is now nearly a year old and has over 600 members. We have run two fun online dog shows to keep the group going and people engaged, as well as creating our own brand of dog bandanas and club t-shirts too!
NWM 2021 Page 19
