Its ‘paws up’ for responsible pet ownership

Danni and Lady won Best in Show

People attending Vale of Aylesbury Housing’s responsible pet ownership event gave the day a resounding ‘paws up’.

‘Paws in the Park’ was organised by the Trust when figures revealed 1 in 7 calls about anti-social behaviour involved the ownership of dogs. Typically, people were complaining about excessive barking, fouling, and dogs running off lead.

The unique event gave people access to modern, effective behaviour techniques to address key problems, courtesy of animal behaviour specialist Jez Rose, of The Behaviour Company. He was kept busy all day answering questions, as well as judging the fun dog show.

Other local organisations supporting the event and providing advice included AVDC, the Dog Warden, the Kennel Club and Hart Vets as well as Trust residents.

People were also invited to sign up to a Responsible Pet Owner’s Charter, committing to positive behaviours like ensuring their pets are supervised around children and scooping the poop.

RSPCA inspectors microchipped 19 dogs, and a fun dog show proved popular. Trust resident Danni Gwilliam won Best in Show with her Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Lady, also winning the ‘Child’s Best Friend’ class.

ASB Strategic Manager Tracie Gilbert said ‘Paws has been a tremendous success. Our aim was to give people access to information that could help them resolve problems like barking. We have delivered some strong messages today, but they have been very well received. Feedback has been extremely positive, with the majority of people telling us that they have learned a lot about responsible ownership. ‘

For photographs of the event, see our Facebook page.