LONDON DOG FAMILY

I was walking in Gunnersbury Park as usual and Rocky my chihuahua was playing with his best friend Fynn, a very handsome King Charles Cavalier. The pair of them have an impenetrable bromance, that’s really very sweet.

On this occasion however, there was something in the air and the pair of them shot off into the sunset together. Re-call went down the toilet as the pair of them refused to listen or take any notice at all – turns out a pretty female on heat is far more appealing than any treat!

That story told, it made me wonder what I would do if Rocky went off and never came back.
At this point I probably knew about 3 other dog walkers in the park.

So the idea came to me right there in GP… If everybody that walked their dog in Gunnersbury Park got to know each other and their dogs, it would make it safer for our dogs. We’d all keep a watchful eye, and the dogs would protect their friends. As a community we would feel safer on our dog walks, especially in the winter months. So when Rocky and I got home, I started the Facebook group, Gunnersbury Park Dog Family.  

Since that day, I have come to know many dog parents, and the group has grown into a wonderful hub for dog lovers of Gunnersbury Park. It covers all things relating to Gunnersbury Park that affect our dogs and the park itself, as well as all the usual banter, tips, advice and dog walks. Should anyone lose sight of their dog or come across one, the group is the first port of call.

It has brought people together that otherwise would never have spoken and created a lovely atmosphere within the park, as well as fantastic friendships between both humans & dogs.

With the unexpected popularity of The Gunnersbury Park Dog Family, my son said to me, “what about the other parks?”

“I couldn’t possibly cope with all of those,” I replied.

“There’s something in this,” he said,” you should do it.”

What that “something was” I didn’t know, but five minutes later, without further thought, I created the second group.

10 minutes later, I thought, “Now what?”

Still in it’s infancy, it’s a work in progress (much like this site) Where GPDF covers JUST Gunnersbury Park and its dog community, London Dog Family covers EVERYTHING dog. The group is for all dog parents in London and the surrounding area.

We’ve had Birthday, Halloween & Christmas get togethers, and we even organised the very successful first Gunnersbury Park Dog Show in 2019 with the kind help of volunteers from our groups.

So, it’s all go here, and anything could happen next – my little Rocky has a lot to answer for!