People walk or pet walk?

Once upon a time, when I was an event manager – there were always a few things that appeared, uninvited, to my walk:

1.   The guerilla-marketing ad-wrapped vehicle that pulls up onto the property to distribute free samples.

2.   The man wearing a (choose your color) spandex unitard making sure everyone could see his moose knuckle while ‘stretching’.

3.   Pets wearing decorative shrapnel.

A popular question always comes up during my logistics trainings:

“How can I tell my walkers NOT to bring their dogs to the event?”

So many fantastic event photos are photo-bombed by an adorable two-or-four-legged friend wearing the most outrageous sweaters, hats, antlers, etc…   If you want to discourage this, then ask your photographer NOT to pose the people and their pets so as to not encourage this behavior for future events.

BTW, an event I managed was sued by a walker that broke her hip after tripping over a dog leash.   And THAT is why you need insurance!

I tell my clients to use the following phrase in the event collateral, so the walkers know what to expect before the event:

“For the safety of our walkers, please leave your pets, bicycles and roller blades at home.”

I’m no pet-hater (although one of my Humane clients remind me that they are not pets, but animals we share our home with) and I love seeing the creative get-ups that these pets wear.  I just don’t want the photos to appear on the web site, posters, walk papers etc..  If the walkers see these cute photos on the collateral, then they will think it is OK to bring their pets.

Remember, it is YOUR event. If you will be welcoming to pets, then please make sure your have services for them.

I’ll post again about this once I find the llama photo.