A little over a year ago while working as a dog walker and pet sitter to pay for my education as a professional trainer and behaviorist, I realized a few things very quickly. Number one was there are a lot of dogs that are bored to the point of destruction, Number two is separation anxiety is a huge thing in the city, and Number three there are very few places to bring your dog in a city already plagued with limited green space, and even fewer "off-leash" areas.

As an alternative to the de-facto dog parks and rough, and often hazardous city streets we came up with The Urban Dog - Playground and Agility Center.

Imagine a indoor space you can bring your canine, with a full agility | obstacle course, enrichment puzzles, toys, and more! A place for owners to connect, hangout, and let their dogs socialize, and play off leash in play groups, no matter the weather conditions outside! A place to go and attend a workshop or training class, host or support an event to support the many amazing animal rescue groups in our city, or just come play! Now you have the opportunity to be a part of it from the beginning and we can't do it without your help! With the support of our friends, family, and community we can get our doors open, and provide a clean, fun, and safe alternative to the de-facto areas and often unkept dog runs.

That isn't all though. Being a part of, and supporting the community is extremely important both as a small business owner and resident. After a year of planning, meetings, and much research The Urban Dog will be forming a Non-Profit subsidiary along side the indoor playground and agility center. Our mission is simple, To provide the resources, and service to low income, seniors, and the residents of Baltimore City and their canines in need to prevent, and reduce shelter surrenders, lower recidivism rates, and prevent unnecessary euthanasia.

With an indoor playground and agility center you get all the benefits of going out to a dog park for exercise and training without all the crap, [Literally!] and much more! This isn't a place to bring your dog to poop on a cold winters day (although we understand accidents will happen) but a place for dog owners and their canines to come socialize, exercise, practice a skill, or participate in the myriad of classes workshops, and services we will offer. Urban herding anyone? As a friend put it after hearing about our mission, "It's like a community center and gym for canines." A portion of all of our profits from the indoor playground and agility center will go to further the mission of our non-profit.

We have set a goal of $12,000 to help us in the final stages and get our doors open before the new year and the cold truly sets in. The money will be used to help finalize and secure our space, help with the purchase of the agility and obstacle course equipment, as well as licensing, gear, and anything else that inevitably pops up while we get our doors open. The money raised will be combined with personal savings, and private donations to get us open and all money raised through this campaign and what we do with it will be published in our progress reports found on our blog at www.theurbandogbaltimore.com/urbandogblog

We have awesome perks for our contributors with designs, and gear that will only be available during this campaign. From t-shirts for both you and your canine, sweatshirts, bandanas, custom gear bags, artwork, invites to our exclusive membership club, goodie bags, and much much more!By contributing to this campaign, you will be not just gaining an awesome place to bring your canine, but you are also supporting the animal community by helping those who need it through our non-profit.

If you want to support this project but aren't able to make a contribution right now, you can still help! Please share this with your friends and family on social media, and spread the word!

Supporting our efforts get you involved in our already awesome community, supports those who need it, when they do, and gets you a bunch of cool stuff too!

Not in the area but want to support? We've got you covered! All of our perks and giveaways for contributors are available to you whether you're in the city or across the country, you can show your love for The Urban Dog!

If you have any questions please send email to Hello@theurbandogbaltimore.com

For a more detailed version of this campaign and more information about The Urban Dog - Baltimore check out our website at www.theurbandogbaltimore.com

We are currently unable to offer tax exemptions for contributions towards the non-profit while we seek and wait for approval of 501C3 status, however our perks are available no matter the location, and every contribution furthers our mission.