Dog Friendly Social: ‘Dogs Welcome’ sticker scheme launches in Worthing as group expands across Sussex

The Dog Friendly Social scheme is expanding across the country, having launched in Weymouth in 2018, and the Worthing group has already built to more than 500 members.

Founder Linda Stevenson, who has two dogs, Mollie and Bruce, is on a mission is to help dog owners and dog-friendly businesses find each other.

She explained: “Often people feel awkward asking if places are dog friendly but by having the sticker outside, people can glance at it and go straight in.

“It’s a challenging time for small businesses, particularly in hospitality, and dog owners are out and about in all weather, and need places to stop, eat and drink, and socialise.

“The scheme is about supporting small businesses and helping dogs and owners socialise.”

To register, businesses pay £2.50 for a sticker, which is posted for free, and their details are added to Dog Friendly Social so owners can find them online, too.

Linda said: “Paul Austin, our moderator, has been building our Dog Friendly Worthing group, which stands at 500 with an aim to take it to 1,000.

“Laughing Dog is just one of the many places recommended by members of our group, who love sharing everything about dogs. We also share shops, too.”

An Eastbourne group has also been launched and more will follow.

Linda said she started her group to let people know dogs are welcome in shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions.

She wanted to tackle concerns about increasing dog restrictions on Weymouth beach and formed Weymouth Beach Dog Walkers in 2016. As momentum grew, the idea of a sticker scheme was floated the following year and then Linda met Barry Whettingsteel from PXLtree.media in 2018, via the group’s Facebook page. They made a plan between them and Dog Friendly Social was launched alongside the sticker scheme.

Linda said: “Business owners display a sticker in the window to show dogs can come in and become part of an online support community.

“The Dog Friendly Social scheme started in Weymouth with 150 businesses registering and is now expanding across the UK. Any businesses in Sussex who’d like to take part can visit our online shop.

“The idea behind it is to support small businesses, boost the local economy and help dogs and owners socialise.”

A private Facebook group runs alongside the localised town schemes, so dog owners in the area can share places where dogs are welcome.

Visit www.dogfriendly.social for more information and follow the links to find the localised groups.

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