Mass dog walk draws large crowd in Napier

Nearly 1000 people and their pooches took part in The Big Dog Walk in Napier this morning. Photo/Paul Taylor

Hundreds of dogs and their obedient owners took to Napier's Marine Parade for a mass dog walk at the weekend.

The Big Dog Walk, raising funds for Lots of Dogs (which works with various charities to help feed dogs in need) was held between the National Aquarium of New Zealand and the Napier Soundshell on Saturday.

This walk was the first of five around the country and is the second year it has been held in Napier.

Kin Marketing director Alice McKinley, who organised the walk, said it was a great success with nearly 1000 people and their pooches.

"It was really good, there were more people than last year which was good."

Every type of dog imaginable was there from dachshunds to St Bernards, she said.

"It was interesting to see the mixture of breeds here compared to other cities.

"Napier is very dog friendly and there were lots of big dogs."

People came from all over the region to participate in the walk even if they didn't have a dog.

One family came up from Palmerston North with their dogs for the fun.

Ian Salisbury, from Crownthorpe, with his dogs Pippi and Duke. Photo/Paul Taylor

Havelock North resident Chel Adams brought her two puppies Indiana and Willow so they could socialise with other dogs.

"It's nice for the dogs.

"It's also nice to catch up with a lot of friends."

Ms Adams attended the walk last year with another dog who has now passed away.

The two new puppies were very excited by the whole event and it was a good training exercise for them, she said.

Ben Rowell's four-month-old puppy Heidi was also ecstatic at seeing so many dogs and would be dragging her owner back again next year.

Mr Rowell lived nearby and often walked along Marine Parade with Heidi.

Dianne Clark came with one-year-old German shepherd Sheba for the first time, from Flaxmere.

"I liked seeing all the different kinds of dogs."

They were all very well behaved and it was great they were all on leads, she said.

"It was awesome, Sheba did really well."

Her dog hadn't been around so many other canines before and enjoyed meeting some new friends.

"Usually on Saturday she has a play date with another German shepherd and Labrador."

Organisers are hoping to raise more than $15000 for Lots of Dogs from all five events.

The walk ended with a catch up, dog icecream and a Next Dog Model competition.

There were also several dogs up for adoption.