Private members dog club paw-pular
Get Leashed invites dog owners to ‘live beyond the dog park’
Dogs are sniffing butts, owners are drinking pints of beer and both animals and humans alike are sporting ugly Christmas sweaters.
This was the scene at Henderson Brewing Co. last week, where patrons and their pets were celebrating a Chrismukkah holiday party and fundraiser for Just Paws Animal Rescue.
It was the latest instalment of #DoggieNights, a free, monthly pet event that happens the first Wednesday of every month. The event raised $732 for Just Paws Animal Rescue.
The brains behind this operation is founder and managing director Dominika Gorecki of Get Leashed, a magazine that has been around since 2014.
Gorecki extended the magazine’s reach with the private-members club for modern dog owners a few months ago. It’s the first club of its kind in Toronto and maybe the world.
“I just found that, while Toronto has a lot of dog owners, it’s really not a petfriendly place,” Gorecki said.
“There’s nothing you can do with your dog and pets are not allowed anywhere.”
And as far as “private membership” goes in Toronto, there are clubs for business professionals, women-only associations and places for alcohol enthusiasts, so why not dogs?
With a mandate to help dog owners “live beyond the dog park,” the Get Leashed team is motivated to make Toronto a world-class city for fur babies.
Gorecki has lived in New York and San Francisco, where she says man’s best friend is far more welcome on patios, in hotels and at restaurants.
Both cities recently eased the rules on dogs and dining.
“Pets sit next to their owners in social contexts and the world goes on,” she said. “Increasingly in restaurants now, there’s even a dog menu.”
By all other accounts, Toronto is a progressive place but has yet to catch up to the dog policies, Gorecki thinks. “This is one area we can improve on and we hope to help in that process.”
Besides the brew nights, Get Leashed also plans doga — or dog yoga, which gives a whole new meaning to the term “downward dog” — and “Dîner En Bark” fine dining for the furry set (the next one is Jan. 23 at Böehmer Restaurant.
Gorecki said the dinners are held in a rotation of restaurants and will also be bringing diners and dogs to unexpected locations “that are not traditional restaurants,” too.
Get Leashed plans a wine tour of Niagara, art walks and other road trips.
“Things you would want to do anyway but you can bring your dog.”
Lyndal Moody, 31, and her 2-yearold Italian Greyhound Iggy Joey have been members of the club since its inception.
“I think events like this really show that it’s possible to have your dogs at public events,” Moody said. “It’s a great place to socialize your pets as well.”
(Speaking of social, @iggymoody has 40.6K followers on Instagram.)
A single monthly membership to the club (billed monthly for a mini- mum of three months) is $30 or $150 for the year. A couples’ annual membership is $250.
Gorecki says it has about 250 members and that couples are a big part of the program.
“I thought it would be more young people who are new to the city and want to come meet other pet owners since the dog park isn’t the best context for that,” she said.
“Surprisingly, we’ve had a tremendous response from people who have waited to have kids — so dogs are the centre of their social life.” Gorecki plans to expand Get Leashed to Los Angeles, New York, Calgary and Vancouver.
The response has been “incredibly positive,” she said.
“I guess we got really lucky and tapped into something people have been looking for.” For more information, visit getleashedmag.com.
“Pets sit next to their owners in social contexts and the world goes on. Increasingly in restaurants now, there’s even a dog menu.” DOMINIKA GORECKI EDITOR OF GET LEASHED