The Big Dog Walk is back in 2017 and it’s bigger than ever

The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs is back in 2017 and it’s bigger than ever!

Last year events were held in Auckland and Wellington, but in 2017 events in Hamilton and Napier have been added to fill demand.

The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs is a synchronised dog walking event in different cities, all at the same time. You're walking along in Wellington and you know that someone in Auckland is also walking a dog with thousands of other random people at the same time. It's magical. Last year there were even helicopters filming it because it was a slow news week.

While the aim of these events is to just go on a fun walk surrounded by dogs, it’s also for a good cause. Each event is linked to a local animal charity. We are collecting for not one but four great causes: HUHA, Passion 4 Paws, Chained Dog Awareness and the SPCA.

You might remember us from last year. This event is the brainchild of standup comedian Alice Brine. It all started with a single Facebook event for Wellington which viral very quickly. It even spawned copy cat events in Sydney and even Japan.This year is no different, with the Auckland and Wellington events currently at 2.4k and 2.7 attending respectively.

We’ve raised the bar for 2017 by teaming with cool dog brands Mashbone who are sponsoring the Wellington event and Omega Plus who are sponsoring the Auckland event. Wolves of Wellington, DENTASTIX, Bow Wow Boutique and more have also come on board to create an awesome atmosphere, supply treats and giveaways galore. We will even have offerings for humans with food stalls and plenty of coffee.

You don’t have to own a dog to come along, you just have to really like dogs! Alice Brine created the event with dog lovers who don’t yet own a dog in mind:

"I just wanted to go on a walk with lots of dogs and I thought the best way to do that was to make a public event and ask anyone if they would want to go on a walk with lots of dogs - and it turns out they did."

People are also encouraged to just come along and 'dog stalk' or 'stare at other people's dogs' from a distance. Obviously if you own a dog, bring your dog. Or if you own a bunch of dogs, bring all of those dogs.

Attendance numbers are expected to peak at about 1000-1500 per event perhaps making it the world's biggest and/or only synchronised global dog walking event.

What: The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs
When: 22nd April 2017, 9.45am- 12pm
Where: Auckland- Waiatarua Park
Hamilton - Lake Domain
Napier - Marine Pde
Wellington - Waitangi Park

Web: http://withlotsofdogs.com/

Facebook event pages:
Auckland - https://www.facebook.com/events/165823290572365/
Wellington - https://www.facebook.com/events/1354384964633742/
Hamilton - https://www.facebook.com/events/361973044188475/
Napier - https://www.facebook.com/events/274236929660299/

Last year all eyes were on us, so if you want to find out more, check out the archives:

Dom Post/Stuff: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/76139518/synchronised-mass-dog-walk-planned-for-wellington-auckland-and-sydney

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/78737603/Paws-and-people-descend-on-Wellington-waterfront-for-Big-Dog-Walk-With-Lots-Of-Dogs

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/86410460/Auckland-walk-goes-to-the-dogs-to-help-charity

Newshub:
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2016/04/paws-to-the-pavement-for-a-good-cause.html

Radio NZ: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/301052/barks-in-parks-mass-dog-walk-for-charity

Video of the Wellington Walk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_VvHUl3gcw

Video of Auckland walk: https://youtu.be/4_eKB1kLJrk

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