Waggy Walks - the events, the walkers, the photos!

Many, many, many thanks to everyone who came to a Waggy Walks event yesterday.

The London event that I attended was a roaring success, with over 200 walkers ready to stroll 3 or 6 miles on a beautiful, crisp autumn day. The main walk set out at 11am with a few latecomers setting off a little later to do their laps.

We were really impressed at how well behaved the canine and human walkers alike were. Although we were handing out poo bags, most were set and ready to go, and there were lots of beautiful demonstrations of walking to heel and sitting patiently despite the sizeable group of dogs.

Our donation buckets started filling up during registration, and a few walkers bought some of the Dogs Trust goods on sale such as collapsible drinking bowls, magnets and little fluffy toy dogs that were particularly popular.

I hear all the other events across the UK were just as busy and fun. Your sponsorship, donations and general support are much appreciated. What was particularly exciting for us in the digital team was how many people were tweeting their events using the #WaggyWalk hashtag - you can see what everyone was saying at the time in this Twitter search.

Here are some photos from London: http://bit.ly/waggywalkslondon (Spot me holding my hat's ears and some of my husband dutifully dressed as a dog as we'd promised our sponsors!)

Other walkers have posted photos across Facebook - see links to their albums here www.facebook.com/dogstrust

Please do add links to your own collections on photos in the comments!

Name That Dog! Waggy Walks mascot needs a name...

Who am I?

Meet ????.

Hi I’m the mascot dog for the 2009 Waggy Walks and I need name, can you help?

All we need you to do is email me with the name you think suits me.

I only have three legs but that won’t stop me from doing the six mile walk on Ocober 18th. I’m really looking forward to it, who wouldn’t be with the chance to meet some new doggy friends!

It's the dogs I’m doing it for – my friends at Dogs Trust who are still without a home.

I will be walking at the London Event in Finsbury Park along with many Dogs Trust staff and dogs and other walkers so I hope to see you all there.

If you are unable to take part in one of the ten walks around the country then please sponsor me. Every little helps Dogs Trust care for the 16,000 dogs or more that pass through their doors every year.

Head on over to my Just Giving page and sponsor me today

The Finsbury Bark: Breaking records for Disney's Bolt

I'd love to have been in the room when Wired PR were discussing ways to mark the release of Disney / Pixar's doggy flick Bolt on DVD. The Finsbury Bark turned out to be an intriguing idea: trying to break the Guinness World Record for the loudest bark!

Held with the advice of RSPCA professionals and with assurances from the organisers that they want to promote responsible dog ownership, The Finsbury Bark takes place on Monday 15th June and anyone's invited. Click to enlarge the flyer below to see details of registration (I believe there's a fluffy toy in it for you!) and find out more about the event.

Good luck breaking the record, folks. At least in the park you won't have to worry about being noisy neighbours!