Black Dog Walks
Ready to make black shelter dogs more visible in your community? If you’re looking for extra exposure for the black dogs in your care, there is a new way to get your community to start seeing black dogs: start a Black Dog Walking Group. It’s an easy, free and fun way to increase public awareness about Black Dog Syndrome while showcasing black dogs awaiting adoption.
How to start your own Black Dog Walking Group
Pick a location. The objective is to get as much exposure as possible for dogs awaiting adoption, so make sure your walk location is a busy place where your likely to be seen such as around a city lake, in a popular park or along a river trail.
Pick a time. Consider a time when your walk location will be busiest such as the weekend. Decide if you want to walk weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. The more often you walk, the more often dogs awaiting adoption will be seen by the public – your potential adopters.
Suggest a dress code. To make black foster dogs stand out , dress the dogs in bandannas, vests or t-shirts that say “Adopt Me”. These need not be fancy or costly. You can make your own using stencils and fabric paint. Get creative and have fun!
You can also approach a local business about paying to have vests or bandanas professionally screen printed in exchange for having their logo included on the items, a link to your website and an opportunity to have their business cards at all adoption and fundraising events. For more cross promotion ideas, see “Cross Promote with Dog Boarding Businesses”.
Tell people about the walk. Use the template provided below to e-mail local rescue groups with the Who, What, Where, When and Why details of the walks. Be sure to include a definition of Black Dog Syndrome. Don’t forget to invite the general public to join your walks. Post a notice in the “pets” section on Craig’s List. Distribute flyers at coffee shops, pet supply stores, dog parks, doggie daycares, dog boarding facilities and training schools.
Get Free PR, increase adoptions. Ready to super charge your black dog public relations? During the walk, pass out cards from local participating rescue groups.
Hand out “Black Dog Syndrome” cards. Have a volunteer write a press release about the walking group and distribute it to the local media. For a press release template and tips for dealing with the media click here. Use references to recent Black Dog Syndrome articles in the national media to “sell” the story of your group. For links to articles, click here.
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