The Society and the entrepreneurship, GooDog, will set up automatic vending machines to sell dog snacks in coffee houses
Dog owners are familiar with the wide-spread phenomenon of businesses that do not allow entrance to pets, among them many food establishments. Through a cooperative agreement between the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel and the entrepreneurial company, GooDog, dog owners in Tel Aviv will not only be able to sit in comfort in the coffee houses, but will also be able to pamper their dogs with special treats for them.
At this time automatic vending machines, for the sale of dog treats, are being set up in areas of high density of dog populations. Each setup will have two types of dog treats – food for adult dogs and food for pups. For the cost of one Shekel, the machine, decorated with Dalmatian spots, will supply about 12 grams of food. Thus the dog owners will be able to avoid giving their dogs scraps from the food that they ordered for themselves, and to pamper them with a small amount of high quality food, so that their normal feeding habits will not be disturbed. A large percentage of the revenue from the machines will go to the Society to be used for the welfare of the dogs in its care.
The GooDog Company is a business-social enterprise whose goal is to aid dogs through maximum easy access to dog food. “Crowds of abandoned dogs gather every day at the facilities of the animal welfare societies,” says Nick Lok, one of the founders of the enterprise. “These societies exist on donations, and since the maintenance of the dogs requires lots of money, we looked for a way of raising funds in which all the partners would benefit from the aid. We chose automatic vending machines for dog food, similar to the chewing gum machines that are common at snack food stores. Thus everyone gains – the dogs get a quality snack, the owners contribute to the animal welfare societies in Israel and the abandoned dogs benefit from the donations”.
So next time you walk the dog, in the park or to the local coffee house, look for the “Dalmatian” machines. Give your dog a little snack and participate in the donation for the animals in need of help.