About WagFriendly and the team

From Rescue to Road Trip: How our Journey with Pepper Inspired Wag Friendly

Welcome to Wag Friendly! David and I are big animal lovers, my mother had over 20 cats at one point, and growing up we also had dogs and chickens. We moved to Europe to travel more easily, but after being here for over 10 years, I missed having a pet. I pestered David about getting a dog but it was tricky as we lived in an apartment on the 3rd floor in Amsterdam. Little did I know that my love of dogs and travel would spark the creation of a unique platform to help dog owners find dog-friendly locations across Europe.

A New Beginning with Pepper

We first met Pepper at a local animal shelter, I had convinced David that we should try out fostering and she was our second foster baby. The police had confiscated her from her original owner and she was badly malnourished but her licky nature and waggy tail meant we quickly fell in love with her and soon became “foster fails”.

Hitting the Road in a Campervan

We have traveled extensively within Europe and our favourite mode of travel is by campervan. It allows you to go slow, visit smaller places, meet more locals, and have unique experiences.

In 2023 we took Pepper along with us for her first trip and we were excited to see how she would adapt to exploring new places and meeting new people. We opted to go east and explored Poland, Slovakia, and Czech. However, our journey quickly revealed an unexpected challenge in this part of Europe: finding dog-friendly places to eat, drink, and relax.

The Struggles of Traveling with a Dog

Many restaurants, cafes, and pubs either didn't allow dogs at all or only on the terrace. In some places, we also struggled to find campsites where we could stay overnight, as many were not dog friendly. This made it challenging to enjoy our trip fully, and as Pepper was still a puppy, we could not leave her for long periods, so we had to forgo meals out or find alternative solutions.

The Birth of Wag Friendly

I spent a lot of time searching online via different platforms to find places to go before it occurred to David that there must be an easier solution. We talked about it during that trip and came up with the idea of a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that would help dog owners easily find dog-friendly locations wherever they travelled and even open up new places to them at home. This vision gave birth to Wag Friendly.

What is Wag Friendly?

Wag Friendly is a one-stop resource for dog owners looking for pet-friendly locations. The platform offers a searchable database of restaurants, cafes, pubs, hotels, dog parks, and