Dogwalks with French Riviera Animals

One of my favorite things about being home is the weekly doggie-walks we go on. Every Thursday morning, French Riviera Animals organizes an hour long walk with coffee, water and dog treats afterwards. The walk costs five euros per family and all the money goes towards helping dogs who are in the local shelters! It has been incredible to see our dog, Mandu, go from a scared dog barely leaving our side to a much more social dog running around playing with all his new friends.

 

During the cooler months we walk in the forests in the Valmasque, a 20 minute ride away from Cannes. This is a very popular outdoors spot, with tons of different trails to discover. While there is not that much to look at, you walk through a big forest – normally lost in conversation with your new friends. For the dogs it is a blast, they get to run around and discover the forest. There is even a dog running off on his own with a bell attached to him – we see him at the beginning and the end of the walk and only hear him for the rest of the time.

 

 

Now that the summer is in full force and it gets hot early the location for the walk has changed. It now goes into the forest following the Brague river – which makes it a lot cooler. The river itself goes from Biot to Valbonne, and there are entrances to the trail at several places. The pathway here is a lot more ragged and you constantly walk over rocks and roots – which makes for a bit more of an authentic hiking experience. The river also follows the path, giving beautiful scenery along the way – there were honestly so many photo opportunities I felt like all I did was take pictures at times.

 

 

For the dogs the river is the best treat there is.They are free to run in and out whenever they want, or more importantly whenever they get too hot. Some dogs bark at their owners until they find a stick they can fetch and some swim around desperately looking for fish. As for Mandu he was very skeptical in the beginning, even if he loves to be in the pool at home. Eventually there was a big rock going into the water where I could walk with him almost most of the way in. Once he was in the water he suddenly got brave and went over to the deeper parts to play with all the other dogs. When he got out of the water you could definitely see that he was super proud of himself!

 

 

 

I really do love the dog walks. It is amazing to hear about and meet new dogs, most of whom are rescues, and of course also to make friends with their humans. I also appreciate all the hard work and dedication from the French Riviera Animals group helping to find forever families for shelter dogs so that they are not put down, and helping dog owners in the south of France with any questions they may have.