TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A meet-up group all about dogs and making friends hosts events across the Tampa Bay area for locals and newcomers looking to meet new people.
“Dog Moms of Tampa Bay” took off on Instagram around the time the coronavirus pandemic started.
Zoe Lee, dog mom to “Kali,” a 3-year-old box hound, started the page.
“I just wanted one place where everyone can go and find all dog-friendly places within Tampa Bay. I did research and stuff and I didn’t find any pages that had anything. So I was like, ‘alright, well, I’ll just put it together myself,'” she said.
Lee said she learned “very quickly” she couldn’t do it all herself because there are so many dog-friendly places in the Tampa Bay area.
Throughout friends bringing in friends, from finding the Instagram, to attending events and asking Lee if she needed help, she found four other admins.
Ashley Miller is the Clearwater/Dunedin admin, Jen Heckner covers St. Petersburg, Sarah Gill and Dorie Voecks handle Tampa, Lee herself is in Pasco County.
“We had the idea to do meet-ups in the very beginning because the page did start at the very beginning of COVID, so we’re like, ‘everyone is just pent [up] in the house, the dogs are getting sick of being in the house,’” Lee said. “What better to do, everyone’s working from home, so you’re not interacting with anyone, so why not interact with other dog moms and talk about your dogs and just let them roam around?”
Lee said the charity aspect of their group began with the ladies reaching out, asking dog-friendly places for business cards so they could let event-goers know where they could bring their pups.
“Then the businesses we’re trying to attract even more attention themselves and they would start putting in like discounts, and ‘you can get this much off your purchase,’ and then it started that they just wanted to start giving gift baskets, so we had raffles!” Lee said.
Heckner said they also sell Dog Moms of Tampa Bay merchandise, like t-shirts, car decals and other branded items. All of the proceeds from the merchandise and raffles go back into the community.
“All of those proceeds we wanted to give back to the local shelters, so we really kind of pick a handful between Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties that are smaller, that don’t get the attention like your Humane Society that everyone’s familiar with so we can continue to support the local, smaller rescues,” she explained.
While 2021 was a crazy start-up year for the group, they hope to continue and expand even more this year.
“I feel like it has just like exploded. And even in Tampa, for Dorie and I, Tampa is huge and I mean there’s Brandon, there’s Riverview, there’s so many areas that we haven’t been over to or done anything with,” Gill said.
“There’s so many dog moms that we haven’t even reached, so it’s like, what are some other outlets that we can get more exposure and grow our group?” Heckner said.
While they are primarily reaching dog moms, Miller said that’s not entirely what Dog Moms of Tampa Bay is about.
“It’s obviously inclusive to all dog parents and even dog-less people. So we’re starting to do events now that are also not with your dog and just to come out and meet people and like-minded people,” Miller said. “So maybe they’re dog-obsessed, but they can’t own a dog where they live, they’re welcome to come hang with us, or come play with our dogs, or whatever.”
“You go to these places and you meet so many people, it’s a positive social media experience, is a lot of it, too. And before I joined, I didn’t realize Sarah was a part of it, but I knew [her dog], just from social media,” Voecks said. “It feels silly to say. But it’s super fun, it’s super positive.”
Gill said it’s hard to make new friends in a new place or the older you get, so the group is trying to help.
“Most of us… are not from Tampa, so being in your 20s and 30s and making friends in a new place it’s like, this is the group for you! If you want to make friends, this is your group!” she said.
You can follow the group’s pups on Instagram. Lee can be found at @kali.theboxhound, Heckner at @callie.doodle.dog, Gill at @boujeepoo, Voecks at @zonksgoldengram and Miller at @smileswithsully.
In addition to Instagram, Dog Moms of Tampa Bay can also be found on Facebook.