By Amy Pollock
THE SHOCKING death of a beloved pet dog in Bangor has sparked a country-wide online safety campaign to raise awareness of the hidden dangers of outdoor spaces.
Three year-old beagle, Betsy, tragically died of poisoning after ingesting what her family believed to be ‘toxic seaweed’ at the Cotton River area of Ballyholme beach earlier this month.
The story of Betsy’s passing prompted Belfast-based Amée Spence, co-founder of Best Bark, Northern Ireland’s first dedicated dog-friendly business directory, to take action.
With Best Bark fast becoming a ‘complete resource for the dog community’ that helps owners discover dog-friendly places across the country, Amée felt she had a ‘responsibility’ to use her engaged online platform to educate.
She said: “I’m a dog owner myself, and after hearing about Betsy, it broke my heart because I know if that was to happen to me, I would be absolutely shattered. And then I thought, with Best Bark, I’ve got a bit of a responsibility now with the amount of followers and the community we have built to spread awareness about the dangers.”
In response, Amée has partnered with Forestside Veterinary Clinic to launch a ‘Dog Safety in Public Spaces’ campaign, of which the first instalment officially launched last week.
Amée said: “After we heard about Betsy’s story, we realised that there is so little awareness out there already.
“So I brainstormed ways we could address this and I thought, well, I’m not personally a vet, so it’s probably better to partner with a clinic so that everything is backed up by professional and expert advice.”
The first focus area of the campaign covers the hidden hazards found on beaches, including tips on checking water quality and spotting potentially harmful seaweed.
Amée said the purpose of the campaign is to ‘raise awareness’ and ‘spark conversations’ about the areas ‘we all assume are safe’ for our dogs to roam free.
In the coming weeks, the partnership between Best Bark and Forestside Veterinary Clinic will also cover maximising safety in forest parks and hiking trails, with plans to create resources relevant for each season.
In the future, Amée hopes to collaborate with local councils to install informative signs in public spaces for those not on social media.
“That’s definitely something we want to champion. We would be happy to do the graphics and all for it, as long as they would allow us to do it.”
She also hopes to partner with adoption and rehoming charities to create ‘welcome home bundles’ containing the dog safety resources.
“By including copies of our safety campaign, it means we can give new dog owners an awareness of these dangers as soon as the dog comes home with them,” Amée said.
Jill Marley, Betsy’s owner, said the campaign’s message is ‘so important’ in preventing future heartache.
“Best Bark are really passionate about making people aware of the risks when you’re out and about with your dog because obviously a lot of people out there aren’t aware of how dangerous it can be, so it’s a full safety campaign to educate people on what to look out for,” said Jill.
She continued: “I never thought what happened to Betsy would ever happen, so I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anybody else. So it was really good of [Best Bark] to get in touch and do this in memory of Betsy to drive awareness. It really is so important.
“[Amée] said to me ‘this one’s for Betsy’, which is lovely, and it’s nice to know that they’re working to ensure it doesn’t happen to another dog again.”
