Digi-Dog: The First ever Municipal Digital Service for Dogs

The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality in Israel has launched ‘Digi-Dog’, a first-of-its-kind initiative to equip dogs and their pet parents with the digital tools they need to thrive in a ‘Smart City’.

Tel Aviv is home to 25,000 registered dogs, and the ratio of dogs to humans (1:17) is considered one of the highest in the world. Digi-Dog is based on the city’s award-winning ‘Digi-Tel’ resident card programme, which is offered freely and used by over one-third of the city’s residents and offers discounts to outdoor events, cultural institutions, sport and leisure activities as well as live updates on what’s happening in their neighborhood and around the city.
Tailored technology
Digi-Dog will provide similar features to pet parents, tailored specifically to their needs and will give them access to important information and special offers, including: reminders about vaccinations, lists of nearby veterinarians, information about upcoming events, discounts at local businesses, listings of available dog walkers, training courses, and directions to the nearest dog park. Card holders can choose to receive updates via an online newsletter and text messages.
City for dogs
Tel Avivian dogs enjoy 70 public dog parks; 1.3 dog parks for every square kilometer. Last year, the city celebrated its first-ever Dog Day, which included pet-friendly stalls, a DJ, an adoption booth as well as a special screening of the hit movie The Secret Life of Pets where pet owners were invited to bring their dogs.
Tel Aviv Global & Tourism’s CEO, Eytan Schwartz said Tel Aviv is an amazing city for dogs. “We have beaches for dogs, parks for dogs, and we even hold film nights for dogs. Tel Aviv is also an amazing city for startups, with 1,500 technological startups; Tel Aviv enjoys the highest concentration of technological companies per capita in the world. Today we are combining both assets – a dog-friendly city and a technology-friendly city – to create a revolutionary service. If you like it – bark!”, he added.
Empowering pet parents
Reuven Ladianski, a Tel Aviv Council member who oversees environmental and animal-related issues, mentioned that Digi-Dog is an innovative platform that represents a significant leap forward in terms of providing municipal services to pet parents. This programme will empower residents to take advantage of everything the city has to offer both to them and to their pets.”