Meetup.com, now a decade old, wasn't founded just for canines. But curiously, pugs played a role. According to techno-lore, the platform's founders concocted a made-up event, International Pug Lovers Meetup Day, to test market the site. Pug lovers (and pretend pug lovers) rallied to the cause, garnering press and visibility. Meetup.com gained a foothold in popular culture as the tool that propelled political candidate Howard Dean into the national arena in 2004, but pugs were never forgotten. Today some 40,996 people are subscribed to 190 Pug Meetup Groups in 163 cities in five countries around the world.

So what exactly is a Meetup? Think of it as a face-to-face activity that's planned online. Each Meetup group has a founder or organizer who takes care of online administrative matters. Most groups encourage members to initiate activities, too. Some groups require members to join and be vetted before participating in a scheduled activity, while others post their Meetup information online and take a "just show up" approach. To explore the canine-related possibilities in your area, go to Meetup.com, enter your zip code and type "dog" in the "Find a Meetup Group" search field.

Group dog walks and off-leash recreation are the focus of Sacramento’s Responsible Dog Lovers Meetup group, while hiking and dog socialization is the name of the game for TOPDOG, an acryonym for Trekking Our Pooches Dog Owners Group. If your interest lies in training, Dogs with a Job is your vehicle for sharing “career” experiences such as obedience, agility, flyball, dog Frisbee, hunting, therapy or tracking. Also in the Sacramento area, you’ll find Meetup groups dedicated to big dogs, toy dogs, shih-tzus , border collies, Australian shepherds, miniature pinschers, dachshunds, schnauzers, Labrador retrievers, greyhounds, pit bulls, mastiffs, beagles—and, of course, those lovable pugs.

Don’t see anything to fit your schedule? Try broadening your search. Sacramento Health Walkers, for instance, welcomes dogs on many of its outings. So does the very active Sacramento Trail Mix hiking and adventure group. A good place to get acquainted is on the group’s weekly riverfront hikes departing from downtown Sacramento. The pace may be a bit brisk for dogs with “have-to-sniff-everything” fixations, but you’ll meet some great folks and get some good exercise nevertheless.

Photo: "Sacramento Shiba Inu Meetup" - Don Reid

Some Meetup groups don’t require a computer. The Marin County residents who helped establish Remington Dog Park in Sausalito, for example, developed such a strong sense of community that regulars started gathering on Friday evenings to nosh on wine and cheese while watching their dogs run and play. Newcomers are readily accepted into what has become the canine social hub of the community. On sunny fair-weather Fridays, the party can include up to 100 people and as many happily romping canines. It’s a great way to make friends, socialize your dog and get educated (if you’re not already) about dog-park etiquette. Another way to get acquainted is by supporting the fundraising events held by or benefiting Friends of Sausalito Dog Park, a group that helps maintain and improve the facility.

Check the “Dog Travel Events” section on the DogTrekker home page for notifications about other groups that meet weekly, monthly or on an otherwise regular basis for recreation and socializing. German shepherd dogs and their people, for example, convene once a week for an “Informal Point Isabel Rumpus.”

Photo Credits:

"Pug Meetup" - Geekteach
"Dog Party" - Atomic Workshop
"Sacto Shiba Inu Meetup" - Don Reid
"Beagle Meetup" - Mary Eisenhart, DogTrekker
"Brussels Griffon Meetup" - Brussels Griffon Bay Area
"CJ" - East Bay Animal Rescue and Refuge

Some Meetups focus on a particular interest, while some of the larger ones offer quite a range, from rescue to picnics to elegant evenings out. South Bay Dog Lovers is even planning some backpacking trips this summer. If Pepper needs a job, check out the training-oriented Cali K9 Meetups, where she can acquire skills from Basic Obedience to Advanced Tracking.

Off-leash hiking in East Bay Regional Parks, has inspired many a Meetup, among them Wag N Trails, a friendly, responsible crew that also welcomes the dog-impaired. In the South Bay, some pit bull folks found their dogs unwelcome in other groups and formed their own,
HikeABull, so everyone could hike and socialize happily. Soon the other breeds were checking out the HikeABull hikes.

If Bonzo needs a bit more quality time with his own kind (or you need a bit more quality time with someone experienced with other members of his gene pool), the breed-specific Meetups (we had a great time with Beagles by the Bay) are not only a great resource, they're a hoot. As Maria Gillespie of Brussels Griffon Bay Area says, "The human party is very mellow compared to the riot at shin level."

Photos: "Beagle Meetup" - Mary Eisenhart, DogTrekker; "Brussels Griffon Meetup" - Brussels Griffon Bay Area.

Founded in 2008, East Bay Animal Rescue and Refuge (EBARR) comes to the aid of both dogs and cats. In addition to rescuing animals from the Pinole and Martinez shelters, EBARR is one of the few rescues that will also accept dogs and cats in need directly from the community if they have foster homes available, and will work in a proactive manner with people who need to rehome their pets so they don't end up in the shelter in the first place. EBARR doesn't discriminate by breed or size, and in its three years has helped hundreds of animals find new homes.

Currently in search of a home at EBARR is CJ, short for Calamity Jane, a 10-month-old shepherd mix with a sweet personality who seems to get along well with all the dogs and people she meets.