Wagtown?: My Leap into the Mosh Pit

In 2016, I left a great job with very creative people to take a leap of faith. I decided to pursue an idea that germinated during my master's degree program. I wrote a plan to create a community development initiative to quantify, qualify, and promote dog-friendliness in America.

Cruelty is not the problem. Neglect is not the problem. Irresponsible pet ownership is not the problem. Those are symptoms of a culture that allows those issues to exist. Let's change our culture, one wag at a time.

In a nutshell, here is what we stand for:

THE VISION

A Wagtown is a community where residents and visitors recognize and enjoy the many benefits and opportunities of responsible dog-friendliness. These communities are vibrant, stronger, and better connected. Wagtowns attract people, spur economic growth, and foster loyalty. A Wagtown contributes to the core vitality of livable communities across the United States.

WE BELIEVE

A Wagtown community is healthier through physical activity, safer via increased foot traffic that polices the area while exercising their dogs, more economically vibrant by appealing to up-and-coming workforce candidates, more welcoming to residents, employers, and visitors with ample space to exercise and gather with your dog, more humane because of strong animal cruelty legislation, the absence of breed profiling, and admirable support of rescue and adoption organizations, and an example of responsible pet owners who register, vaccinate, and train their dogs to be sociably appealing. Dogs bring people together. When every dog in a community is cared for as a part of the family, the community is enhanced. A Wagtown community is truly “where the wag happens?.”

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to lead the movement to create a Wagtown for everyone. As leaders, our commitment is to listen and learn, define standards, educate, and share best practices to engage diverse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change and celebration.

WAGTOWN ORGANIZATION SNAPSHOT

Wagtown is a means for cities, universities, hospitals, sports venues, companies, military installations, and neighborhoods to make dog-friendliness a reality for residents and visitors in their communities.

Wagtown provides a blueprint, hands-on assistance, and recognition for towns that strive for or have achieved dog-friendly status. Wagtown offers legislative advocacy, awareness communication, programs, and services that facilitate an environment that promulgates humane treatment of and friendliness toward dogs.

Stay tuned for more details on our projects, how you can get involved, and what is next on this exciting journey.

I took this leap and thought it would be like jumping off of a cliff. In fact, it's been much more like leaping into a mosh pit of support. Everyone I have talked to, partnered with, learned from, been inspired by, and more has caught me in mid leap, held me high, and multiplied the momentum through referrals, donations, connections, and all-around good deeds. I thank each and every one of you.

So far, I have personally interviewed 287 people in thirteen different states as I learn and grow the concept. I look forward to many more inspiring moments as we work lockstep with stakeholders in this community and beyond.

If you'd like to follow the journey, we can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Wagtown.org