Celebrating Dog Friendly Ireland Day
Today Dogs Trust Ireland is celebrating their fifth ‘Dog Friendly Ireland Day’ with the assistance of Tenor Paul Byrom and his beloved dog, West Highland Terrier, Bradley. This year, the charity is on a mission to make Irish dogs happier with simple, but enriching changes to their daily routines.
‘Dog Friendly Ireland Day’ is part of a wider initiative to encourage more establishments and services across the country to become more accessible to dogs and their owners. The huge increase in dog ownership throughout the pandemic has created an even bigger demand for dog friendly services, especially public transport, accommodation and the option to bring dogs to suitable workplaces. Research* carried out by Dogs Trust found 84% of dog owners and 73% of non-dog owners surveyed stated they would like to see dogs allowed at suitable workplaces.
Speaking about Dog Friendly Ireland Day, Paul Byrom said: “The hardest part of touring, is leaving my dog Bradley behind as sadly, it is not always possible to have him by my side. I include Bradley in my daily life as much as possible. Whether it’s going to the barber, or catching up with friends over lunch, if Bradley is welcomed by the establishment you can count on him being with me. I would love to see even more businesses opening their doors to dogs. Making Ireland more accessible for dogs and their owners will make owning a dog easier for their owners, and in turn could decrease the wave of unwanted dogs that rescues are currently facing.”
Dogs Trust has received over 1,300 requests from members of the public asking the charity to take in their dog since January with the most common reasons provided being lack of time, followed by undesirable behaviour.
Ciara Murran, Head of PR, and Communications in Dogs Trust explains: “We are inundated with surrender requests, so this Dog Friendly Ireland Day, we want to help busy owners to keep their dogs happy. Our free ‘Game Changer’ packs offer lots of simple ideas that can easily and cheaply be done at home or in the workplace to enrich dogs’ everyday lives. Dogs who get to appropriately express their natural behaviours like playing, digging, chewing, and sniffing tend to be more content and may be less likely to exhibit unwanted behaviours, especially those related to destruction and boredom.”
Dogs Trust is encouraging the dog loving public to get involved in this year’s Dog Friendly Ireland Day by sharing photos of their happy dogs at home, in the workplace or in dog friendly establishments on social media using the hashtag #DogFriendlyIrelandDay.