Dog-friendly guide to eat out and tourist spots

A new website to find canine-friendly venues in Scotland is kicking off this weekend.

Dog Furiendly is bringing an interactive website for dog owners this Sunday, 22 July.

The website will serve as an authentic platform for listing pubs, cafés, restaurants, shops, visitor attractions and events which allow dogs on the premises.

To celebrate, Dog Furiendly will host two launch events where dog owners can take part in a big quiz with their pooches as team mates. The events will support and take donations for local charities Give a Dog a Bone in Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Dog and Cat Home.

An estimated number of 640,000 dog owners in Scotland will benefit from this new online platform. The new website is entirely free-to-use and dog lovers are invited to sign-up, review and submit listings.

Alison and her German Shepard cross, Tyree from Edinburgh, are proud members of Dog Furiendly’s tail wagging community.

Alison said: ‘I’m so pleased this website is expanding to Scotland. I’ve found it so much easier to navigate and find new places than other websites I have used. Finding dog friendly places will be a walk in the park!

‘Their social media community has already encouraged me and Tyree to explore new places. We will add our own finds to help the community too.’

Growing numbers of dog owners want to dine with their pets

Adele Pember, founder of Dog Furiendly, started the website after struggling to find places to take her Chihuahua, Charlie, who suffers with separation anxiety.

According to research carried out by Channel 4’s Dogs: Their Secret Lives, 85% of the dogs studied showed signs of not coping when left alone.

Adele said: ‘We know there are a lot of dogs like Charlie who don’t like being away from their owners. It’s heart-breaking when you have to close the door and look at those puppy dog eyes. Many owners in Scotland face this tough situation every single day.

‘Since launching Dog Furiendly in Wales, we’ve helped so many people to find new places, our community is growing every day! We can’t wait to do the same for dog owners in Scotland.’

To celebrate, Dog Furiendly will host two launch events where dog owners can take part in a big quiz all about dogs.

The Glasgow launch event will take place on Sunday, at 6pm, at Saint Luke’s, 17 Bain Street. The Edinburgh event will take place on Sunday, 29 July, at 6pm at BrewDog, on Lothian Road.

The website has already been successful in Wales helping over 15,000 Welsh dog owners every month to find new places.

Dog owners are encouraged to share their favourite dog friendly places with them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using the handle @dogfuriendly.