KENNEL CLUB LAUNCHES AWARDS TO FIND SCOTLAND’S BEST DOG FRIENDLY BUSINESSES
The search is on to find Scotland’s most dog friendly places, as the Kennel Club launches its Be Dog Friendly Awards 2014.
Even though we are regarded as a nation of pet lovers, many dog owners struggle to find shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels and even beaches that welcome their four-legged friends. That is why the Kennel Club has launched the 2014 Be Dog Friendly Awards to reward and encourage businesses and public places across the UK that adopt a dog friendly attitude.
The awards are being held in association with Dog Friendly, the UK’s leading directory with over 32,000 carefully selected dog friendly entries in 19 categories.
There will be ten Be Dog Friendly Awards for excellence:
- Hotel / Hostel
- Pub / Bar
- Day out
- High Street
- Beach
- Café / Restaurant
- Camping / Caravanning
- Town / City
- Great Outdoors
- Large Organisation
The winners in all categories will be determined by public recommendation and vote. In addition to the category awards, a Special Recognition prize will be awarded to a place or business that the Kennel Club identifies as pulling out all the stops for its canine customers.
The awards will be presented at the Discover Dogs Show, to be held at Earls Court, London on 8 – 9 November 2014.
Speaking about this year’s awards, Kennel Club Secretary, Caroline Kisko said: “With over 8 million dogs in the UK, now is the perfect time to encourage more non–pet businesses in Scotland to adopt a dog-friendly attitude.
“Our research has shown that four out of five businesses with a dog-friendly policy say it has helped them attract more customers and has had a beneficial effect on staff. Taking dogs out and about, particularly as puppies, gets them used to being around people and dogs and leads to a dog friendly nation.”
Steve Bennett from Dog Friendly comments: “We are delighted to be part of the Kennel Club Be Dog Friendly campaign. Our customers are always looking for more businesses and locations and are keen to share their favourites.
“The Be Dog Friendly Awards are the perfect opportunity for businesses to sign up to the campaign and become more accessible to dogs and their owners.”
The competition runs until 10th October. To recommend and vote for your favourite dog friendly places or businesses, click here. Everyone who makes a nomination or votes will be entered into a free prize draw to win a £1,000 voucher towards a dog-friendly holiday, with runner up prizes of ten pairs of tickets to Crufts and Discover Dogs.
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Dear Phyllis
I came upon your article as I browsed in frustration on the internet to find a nice place where me,my partner and Leon our beloved Jack Russel could spend the evening on our first visit to Scotland,So far the 4 days that we have been in the UK,Traveling from Italy have been,the worst experiences in Europe.Most other nations are far more accommodating,Leon has traveled to 12 different nations and has been welcomed,spoiled and petted.In France we all know they have dog bowls on the streets,with fresh water,and almost all restaurants except dogs.In Germany,they bring leftover meat and water to your dog,but I fear that the U.K and Scotland ,especially by far take the award for the most Dog unfriendly nation in Europe.As tourists you can’t leave your dog in the hotel room when you are not in, one hotel actually suggested that I leave my dog closed in the car while I ate breakfast,the same also asked me to leave him in the back yard during the night, I don’t know what the fuss was about Considering the old carpet on the stairs and hall stank like it had not been shampooed for years,whereas my dog gets a bath at least once a week and his paws and privates get disinfected everyday.We extended our trip and expenditure by five days traveling by car,as all airlines arriving into the U.K are forced to put all pets in the berth,unlike other companies that allow dogs up to 8 kilos in the cabin ,so long as they are in a dog holder.The first Night in York,at a 4 well know 4 star hotel,that charged £40.00 for the dog.We were segregated into the courtyard for dinner.The waiters ignored us,passed by to and fro,taking our order after more then half an hour,whilst they served customers that came after us in the restuarant,as I could see through the glass doors.It was only when I called the manager and said that I would be reporting the service to their head office ,he offered us a drink,and got the waiters moving, I would have left except that we had checked in late after driving all the way from France.The second day with our dog in tow, we made a walk in booking.We returned later for our table.Suddenly,the manager who had also taken the booking came forward and said,he was sorry,and had a mistake,as they don’t take dogs,the restaurant was half empty and I suggested he gave us a corner table.He was adamant and said we could sit out in the freezing cold,with the outside heating,which then failed to function,for the most part.The food froze,the dog shivered,and we drank and ate as fast as we could,to escape.This morning I took Leon to breakfast with me as In the bed and breakfast,as they are in the listing as a pet friendly B and B.As soon as I sat down,a member of the staff came over and suggested that we go to another part of their hotel which is in the building next door,and that they would serve us alone in there.I was speechless,and and decided to take Leon back to the room.I have 10 more days to go.I am chronicling my dog journal to send to the tourist ministry,considering that everyone so far has told me that it is against the law for animals to be in restaurants,which is only an excuse as it is not compulsive.I felt i needed to take this opportunity hope you do not mind
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