Welcome to the last volume of The Scoop this year! We’ve rounded up the best stories of the year into a special bumper edition.
And what a year it’s been. not only have thing gotten pawlitical at times, but we’ve seen more than a few adorable, surprising and even humorous dog stories this year.
Gobi the desert marathon dog
This was something of an ongoing saga – one that alternating between the edge of our seats, reaching for tissues, biting our nails and sending best wishes to Dion Leonard, the ultramarathon runner who fell head over heels for this little desert stray. After completing 77 miles of a 155-mile race, Dion decided to adopt Gobi – which meant that the little dog had to enter quarantine before she could travel to the UK.
We are so happy to be together again! 😍😍😍 @WaaUltra pic.twitter.com/DySpVovohP
— Dion Leonard (@findinggobi) August 25, 2016
Then, tragically, Gobi vanished. Apparently too eager to get back to her new owner, she escaped from the quarantine centre, prompting Dion frantic and desperate search including a crowdfunding campaign so that he could catch a plane back to China and look for her himself. Thankfully, Gobi was found and will be heading to the UK by 1st January 2017. Here’s wishing you and your family a happy New Year, Dion and Gobi!
Serial hugger gets his just desserts
Undoubtedly one of our favourite stories from the whole of 2016 was this serial hugger. The sneaky youth had nothing better to do but ride around on his bike, creeping into his neighbour’s house and giving their dog a cuddle. Honestly, young people these days.
Anyway, this horrible little criminal, real name Josh, got his comeuppance when family friends were no longer able to look after their Black Lab pup – and Josh’s parents adopted the pooch. Now he can cuddle to his heart’s content.
K-9 Piper
K-9 Piper had to make our picks of 2016 list. After all, he’s better than Tom Cruise. While he might not be snapping pictures of bogeys whilst flying fully inverted, it’s definitely true that airport security never looked so cute. What’s more, Pipes looks the part with his jacket, safety goggle and specially made ear-protectors. Piper may just be the coolest dog with the coolest job in the world – we’re sure dog’s everywhere are jealous.
Pawlitical pooches
Of course, it wouldn’t be a roundup of 2016 without at least a passing mention of some of the pawlitics that has made this year so… unusual. For some it’s been shocking, for others it’s been a year of unforeseen success and jubilation. Others have stood on the sidelines and laughed at the comedy of it all. Like the makers of these Smear Campaign poop bags, which come in blue Democrap or red Repooplican.
Or how about these doggy chew toys? While your pooch might not be able to appreciate the subtle humour of the outfits on these Bernie Sanders, Hilary or Trump soft dog toys, they sure will enjoy giving them a good chew. The pet toy store stocking the toys in NYC apparently experienced a large spike in sales in the weeks leading up to the election.
Our final favourite pawlitical moment of the year was the day after the US Presidential Election, when disappointed democratic candidate Hilary bumped into a heartbroken supporter. and the best bit – Hilary and husband Bill were out walking their dogs; seeking solace in the company of their furry companions.
Dog-friendliest UK pubs revealed
It’s been a big year for dog-friendly pubs. We discovered that 70% of dog owners research pubs before visiting them with their dog and 75% would rather spend an evening with their dog than without. However, we also discovered that 1 in 3 dog owners had struggled to find a dog-friendly establishment for a beverage with their dogs, and 1 in 4 dog owners had even felt that their dogs were so unwelcome that they left the pub. With this in mind, we launched the first ever DogBuddy Dog-friendly Pub Awards, sniffing out pubs up and down the UK that love to welcome dogs through their doors.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find time to visit all 3,500 dog-friendly UK pubs ourselves! So, we asked you, the DogBuddy community, to help us out. We were overwhelmed by your response – more than 7,000 of you got involved, nominating and voting for your favourite watering hole to visit with your pooch. Then our panel of judges picked an overall winner from the shortlist of 12 regional winners – and we crowned The Hand in Hand in Wimbledon, London the national winner. if you’re looking somewhere to chill with your pup for a festive drink this Christmas, why not check out our 12 regional winners – as voted by dog owners!
2016 – that’s a wrap! Here’s to an even more pooch-tasctic, pawsome, dog-ful 2017.