Canine chums have cosied up for an Angus Christmas treat before they begin the hard work of taking the lead in boosting the area’s dog-friendly tourism credentials.
Earlier this year, collie Moss and retriever Jarvis were chosen as the area’s ambassadogs in a new initiative aimed at boosting the area’s allure for dog lovers.
The idea was developed by the Angus Tourism Cooperative, which plans to begin a major drive in 2019 highlighting the businesses and attractions of Angus which would make an ideal destination for visitors with canine companions.
The group was delighted with the flood of four-legged applicants for the ambassadorial role, and after choosing the two dogs for the young and senior slots the perfect pets and their proud owners were treated to a pre-Christmas sleepover at the Balmuirfield House B&B north of Dundee, operated by ATC official Stuart Clark.
Mr Clark said the seasonal treat was a chance for the dogs to get to know each other, and their owners to get details of the tourist-pulling mission which will begin in earnest in the new year.
“Angus Tourism Co-operative is comprised of Angus businesses whose aim is to work together to improve the tourism offer in Angus and to promote the area as a visitor destination, resulting in economic growth,” said Stuart.
“The co-operative will provide one voice for our local tourism businesses, a forum to share views and experiences, and the opportunity to network, collaborate and develop the skills of members.
“With the ambassadogs idea we wanted to find dogs that are as passionate about Angus as we are, and in Moss and Jarvis we reckon we have found the perfect pair.
“These two are going to be out and about promoting Angus and we have lots of other ideas, including a monthly dog walk, starting in January.”
He added: “We also intend to run bigger quarterly events and, looking further ahead, plan to do what we can around the international sheepdog trials which are coming to Angus next September.
“It’s great that we can bring the focus on the dog friendliness of Angus through our ambassadogs and it was lovely to have them here and give them some prizes for being selected,” said Stuart.
“We are getting a great response already through our Dog Friendly Angus Facebook page which already has more the 1,700 members and we hope that will continue to grow.”
Important tourist locations including Glamis Castle already see hundreds of families and their pets putting money into the area through successful events including the annual canine cross-country competition in the grounds of the historic landmark.
