Meet Ex-Paw: connecting dog owners to Manchester’s green spaces
This one’s for the dog lovers! Ex-Paw are a dog community based in the centre of Manchester who run events and activities for dog owners, as well as offering doggy care advice and help to provide access to dog friendly spaces.
As part of their work, they encourage dog owners to experience the benefits of visiting new green spaces across Manchester and explore all the city has to offer. We caught up with Taylor from Ex-Paw recently to chat more about how they got started and the links between owning a dog and connecting with your local environment…
Who are you and what is your role at Ex-Paw?
I'm Taylor, Senior Place Marketing Executive at Solid Ground. I look after all of the social media content for Ex-Paw, write articles for our website, create content and help with event management.
How did ex-paw start out?
Solid Ground founded Ex-Paw to address the rising number of dog owners in Manchester which occurred as a result of the COVID pandemic. Recognising the unique challenges faced by dog owners in urban settings, particularly those living in apartments, we saw a need to create a supportive community – especially after spending so much time in Lockdown. Ex-Paw serves as a platform to educate pet owners on best practices for city living, promote responsible pet ownership, and foster a sense of belonging, exploring the city and surrounding areas with their four-legged friends! Working with FEC, we launched the first annual programme of events at Angel Meadow Park, bringing together dog lovers to share, learn, and enjoy the company of their furry friends and supporting local businesses who can promote their products and services at these events!
What are your aims?
Our main aims are to create a dog community for people living in Manchester City Centre that allows them to get out and about to dog friendly events with their furry friend, learn more about how to be a better dog owner, discover new dog friendly places in the city, meet other dog owners, enjoy free events and embrace the green spaces of the city.
We also pride ourselves on our charity work. With all of our events we strive to raise money and awareness for a charity partner. Over the years we have worked with Moodswings, Guide Dogs and Manchester & Cheshire Dogs' Home. Our most recent event saw us raise £500 for Manchester & Cheshire Dogs' Home along with a huge amount of donations for the Dog's Home including blankets, food, treats and toys.
How does sustainability play a part in what you do?
Sustainability plays a huge part in why we set up Ex-Paw and how we run our events. We created Ex-Paw to drive footfall into the green spaces of Manchester and make pet owners more aware of the green space Manchester City Centre has to offer. We run all our events and marketing in-house, and use re-usable and sustainable event items where possible. We try to work with all independent businesses for our events, to support local, natural and sustainable makers, who produce their own kit and equipment.
How can people get involved?
People can get involved by following us on our social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok), by coming along to one of our upcoming events or just tagging along for a day of free pup loving fun!
What advice would you have for dog owners living in Manchester?
Our advice to Manchester pet owners would be to join our dog community! By attending one of our events, not only are you discovering one of Manchester's parks, you will meet like-minded dog owners, discover natural dog brands, learn from our professional experts at live talks and shop treats for your furbabies.
Click here to find out more Ex-Paw and learn about their upcoming events.
Keen to make more of the outdoors?
