I will be Unleashed in Austria!

I’m beyond excited to be in Linz next week for the?UNLEASHED pet tech meet-up, a curated event in the pet tech space. I’m looking forward to meeting more than 30 investors and to help build the pet tech investor and startup community!

(Plus we're having Aperol Spritz at a restaurant called the Inglorious Bastards - on a school night!)

Purina are amazing.

It was Purina (then Spillers) that had the vision to sponsor the very first edition of my magazine Dogs Today when it was launched by the Daily Mail back in 1990. A magazine that gave the family dog a voice for the first time.

And it was also Purina (specifically Winalot) who sponsored my talking dog competition (the winner really did say Winalot!). Well we'd given the dog a voice they might as well use it!

And they backed my crazy idea for the Bridget Bones Diary that featured 52 rescue dogs that had been looking for love and found it. (That made the front page of Marketing Week and a DPS in the Mail as it turned Purina's seed money into much more for the Dogs Trust (then NCDL) who sold the gorgeous full colour handbag sized diary for donations. A win win win for all.

And it was Purina who backed my crazy idea to stage the first huge family dog show at Ascot Racecourse. I called it the Wag and Bone Show, but it was going to be called The Ideal Bone Show but the Mail wobbled at the final hour. "What if it was a flop - would it damage the Ideal Home?" A new consumer show 'would take five years to break even' the MD of Associated Newspapers had warned me when I asked the Mail to sponsor it. He had ignored my first few begging letters, but I wore him down!

"What does it say at the bottom of this letter you sent me," said the very scary important MD of the whole Mail dynasty including the successful events side. Guy Zitter wasn't going to make this easy. "It says you're the Editor of a dog magazine, what makes you imagine you could organise a massive public event?" He still sponsored it. And bought us all a great lunch when it was a HUGE success - even in year one. It had pulled together The Kennel Club, Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, Wood Green, PDSA, Guide Dogs, the RSCPA and Battersea - around a very big table. It never had an ounce of bad press, every year it grew more and more loved by the media and the public. I gifted it to the charities for ￡1 and that was probably my biggest mistake. The first year I didn't run it for them it lost a fortune and got axed!

And of course it was Purina who had said Yes to sponsoring it before it was anything more than a breathless idea. (Yes, Mary Sharrock/McKendry - you were so very brave!)

Purina was in there early again for the "Don't Cook your Dog" awareness campaign - it was translated into nearly every language to attempt to shock the public and save dogs from the perils of being left even for only a few minutes in hot cars.

And it was Purina that stepped in to back one of the first Assistance Dog charities for people who had other disabilities than sight or hearing - the ground breaking Canine Partners. I seem to remember I pestered them about this new charity that they still support to this day..

And it was Purina who put my hero Dr Ian Dunbar on ITV for what is still the best dog programme of all time.

So what am I starting up this time, I hear you ask? Quite simply the biggest project yet. I have spent my whole life campaigning for a better world for dogs and I've had lots of success with legislation tweaks - but now I want to change the behaviour of consumers. Empower them to make better choices that enable them to be the best dog owners they can be. Help them change the system so that those who do things well for dogs succeed.

Make being good for dogs good for business, too. Freeze out the scammers and the vile puppy farmers by removing the easy profit. Help consumers make much better choices for their own good and the good of dogs generally. (Did you know that small, ethical dog breeders housetrain their pups before they go to their new homes? That they give a lifetime of aftercare. And some enlightened rescues use something called OpenPaw to solve all the rescue dog's behaviour and training issues before they put them in a new home - and they also offer a lifetime of aftercare. There is a better world, let's help the public find it and inspire others to do better, too.)

I want to create dog heaven on earth called the Bark Angels. A curated space where every prospective pet owner only meets the very best people in the dog world. Only the best trainers, groomers, breeders and rescues will be allowed into doggie heaven, but every dog in the world will be eligible to become a member. A club that will reward great behaviour in a currently poorly regulated space.

Bring back the idea of a club for all the loved dogs in the world that helps less fortunate dogs. Purina was key to the ancient Tailwaggers Club Trust that led to the creation of Guide Dogs and dog vaccines for example. It had millions of members in the era before tech existed!

Make a club for every dog to join and use that base to create a meritocracy in the dog world so that those who really do aspire to do their very best are much more visible to the consumer than those who cut corners and hurt dogs.

Elevate the dog world to make it a fairer place where everyone knows where the good guys are. Create a world where every dog knows they are a good dog - and are given a much better chance of being loved for all their life.

#unleashedbypurina