Why choose between your friends and your dog?

After all, your dog is your best friend! With us, you don't have to choose.

Get out and experience all the fun activities available in the DC metro area with a responsible dog-friendly group of people. This Meetup group is about socialization for both you and your dog.

What we are, and aren't:

There are many wonderful dog Meetup groups already in existence. Some focus on specific breeds or sizes. Others focus on specific activities such as agility or hiking (e.g. our sister group NoVA Trail Dogs). I encourage you to join all of the ones that interest you and in which you will be active. There are also many wonderful adventure Meetup groups in existence, where folks get together to do fun things around the DC metro area. Although these groups are great, they are not designated dog-friendly, and so it is often awkward to bring your best friend along.

We are a hybrid of adventure and dog Meetup groups. We are an adventure Meetup group, where we get together to do fun and interesting things around the DC metro area (and beyond). But, we are first and foremost a dog-friendly Meetup group, where all of our members are dog owners and everything we do is dog-friendly. Our dogs get to socialize and experience new things, which is important for a happy and well-adjusted dog. And we get to socialize with our pups. It's always easier to talk to new folks when dogs are involved, and it's always more fun to be out socializing with your best friend along.

What we do, and don't:

Have a look at the past and future Meetups we've had to get a feel for our group. We'll experience cruises on the Potomac, yappy hours, wine tastings, road trips, festivals, black tie events, picnics, holiday events, etc. often to benefit pet charities, located mainly in the DC metro area. We'll also take some road trips to places like the Tidewater area, Gettysburg and Philadelphia. We'll focus on events that help animal charities wherever possible. Many exciting events are already posted through June 2010!

We do not try to occupy the space already taken by the other dog Meetup groups, so we do not do agility or dog parks, and although we might do some walking we won't officially do hiking unless it is with our sister group. We have several members who are active in both VA Adventure Dogs and NoVA Trail Dogs, and I encourage you to join both so your dog gets the best of both worlds. We have already had one joint Meetup (July 4th) and hope to have many more in the future.

Our goals for this group:

We hope for several things to result from this group.
1. We hope to build a community of dog owners and their pups who get out and enjoy all that life has to offer together.
2. We hope to discover together all of the fun human things to do, where dogs are welcome too. In the process, we'll undoubtedly find places that are more dog-friendly than others, but we'll always find a way to have fun, and we'll never be afraid to ask if dogs are allowed!
3. We hope to encourage folks to take their dogs out for fun more often: giving the dog new experiences, alleviating his/her boredom and loneliness, and resulting in a better behaved and experienced dog who subsequently is surprised by very little.
4. We hope to demonstrate to food and entertainment establishments that there is a demand for dog-friendly locales, and that allowing pets can be an enjoyable and lucrative experience for the establishment; we hope the result of this is an increase in dog-friendly establishments.

We look forward to welcoming you and your pup into our group!