The Founding Pack Leader Code of Conduct

TailsTrails Social Inc. | Version 1.0

You weren't recruited. You qualified.

That distinction matters.

A Pack Leader at TailsTrails is a special person. You love dogs as much as we do (yes, we're obsessed!) and you care about your community and your neighborhood. You're someone the Discovery Quest read carefully — and confirmed what your friends and neighbors already know about you. You're the one who notices. The one who shows up. The one who makes a place feel like a place.

This is the Code you'll lead by.

Why This Code Exists

Communities don't grow overnight. They need special care. They also don't break overnight. They erode quietly — one cancelled meetup, one cold shoulder at the gate, one person who walks away thinking nobody noticed they were there.

TailsTrails was created to build lasting communities so people can truly belong in the neighborhoods where they live.

Dogs are the most underused "social technology" of the last hundred years. They start conversations strangers can't. They give people a reason to step outside, to know a neighbor's name, to walk a few more thousand steps, to start an impromptu conversation with a stranger. The science is in: belonging is a longevity factor. Loneliness shortens lives. Movement extends them.

We're building the platform that turns those facts into someone's ordinary Tuesday.

Founding Pack Leaders are the people who make that real on the ground. Which is why we wrote this down.

The Founding Pack Leader Promise

You showed up for this role. Here's what you commit to in return.

You'll build the pack you want to belong to. Invite your friends. Welcome the next person who walks in. Make sure no one ever stands alone.
You'll host two meetups a month. Walks, café hangs, park meetups, themed socials — whatever fits your neighborhood and your style. Predictable rhythms beat ambitious one-offs.
You'll vouch for what's good and flag what's not. Trail safety. Dog-friendly patios. The vet who actually returns calls. The coyote sighting on the ridgeline. Real-time, real-talk.
You'll welcome the newcomer. First-timers, first-week-here-ers, just-got-a-puppy-ers. The wave you give them is the wave that turns a stranger into a regular.
You'll lead with kindness and empathy. Not the performative kind. The actual kind — the one that reads the room, makes space, and never makes anyone feel like they're failing the vibe.

How We Show Up

Six principles. They're not aspirational. They're operational — each one is a test you can apply in the next ten minutes.

Belonging over branding. This isn't a brand activation in disguise. We don't talk about each other as "users"—we talk about them as neighbors.
Safety isn't optional. It's the floor under everything else. Leashes. Vaccinations. Honest behavioral disclosure. A Pack Leader who lets safety slip isn't leading; they're improvising.
Curiosity over judgment. People come to dog parks lonely. People come feeling anxious. People come from cultures where dogs sleep outside and people come from homes where the dog gets a special Halloween costume or pampered with filet mignon. All of it works.
Specificity over performance. Don't post the generic photo. Tell us about Daisy meeting Charlie and somebody finally asking for the trainer's number. The specific story is the only one anyone actually feels.
Health is the long game. Movement, fresh air, third spaces — every meetup, walk or event you host is a small bet on someone else's longevity. Treat it that way.
No jerks. The floor of the floor. No bullying. No bigotry. No predatory behavior. No shaming. No exceptions, including for high-performing leaders.

The Hard Lines

Some boundaries are operational. Some are legal. Here they are in plain English so we never have to argue about them.

You're not an employee or agent of TailsTrails. You lead under our flag, but you organize at your own initiative. Don't represent yourself as staff, don't quote pricing, don't sign anyone up for anything on our behalf.
You're not a salesperson. Inviting a local groomer to attend your café walk = great. Negotiating sponsorship dollars with that groomer = not your job, and not yours to do. We're building a sales team for a reason. You bring people together, we find the sponsors for all the freebies, discounts, and perks for you and your pack.
Member data is sacred. Anything you see by virtue of leading a pack — names, emails, phone numbers, locations — exists for community work only. Not for your business. Not for a side hustle. Not for a friend's email list. Not ever.
Events happen on public ground or with venue permission. Parks, trails, sidewalks, dog-friendly cafés that have said yes. Never on TailsTrails property (we don't have any) and never on private property without consent.
Insurance is your call. We'll always recommend that Pack Leaders who are running large or ambitious events carry personal liability coverage. Cheap, smart, sleeps better.
Disclose. Disclose. Disclose. If your dog has a bite history, a reactivity trigger, or a contagious health issue, the rest of the pack needs to know before they show up. Withholding that is a Pack Leader-ending move. Likewise, we encourage you to remind pack members to do the same. We want everyone to have a great experience every time.
Photos and footage from your events. When you upload event photos, videos, attendance counts, and testimonials through TailsTrails, those Proof Artifacts become TailsTrails property — to be used in case studies, sponsor decks, and marketing. We'll always credit the moment back to you and your pack.

The Bigger Why

Help dog owners find better walks, better experiences. Use the social side of dog ownership to extend human lifespans. The second one comes straight out of Blue Zones research — the longest-lived populations on earth — and the things they share: walking, weak ties, third spaces, purpose, belonging.

Every Pack Leader event is one of those things in miniature. A walk. A third space. A reason to leave the house. Multiply by a hundred leaders in fifty cities and you start to see it: a public health intervention disguised as a dog meetup.

You're not just running meetups or curated walks. You're running an infrastructure for human flourishing — with a leash on.

The Binding Part

This Code is a cultural commitment to health, wellness and happiness.

The legal one is in the TailsTrails Terms of Service, Section 6 ("Pack Leaders"), which governs your role, your obligations around member data, your event liability, your relationship to TailsTrails Social Inc., and the conditions under which Pack Leader status can be modified or revoked. It also covers Sections 7 (No Jerks Policy), 8 (User-Generated Content), 11 (Dog Safety), 12 (Assumption of Risk), and 19 (Indemnification) as they apply to Pack Leader activity. By accepting your Founding Pack Leader badge, you agree to both — this Code in spirit, and Section 6 in law. Read Terms of Service Section 6 in full at tailstrails.app/terms. Section 6 also requires you to follow the Community Guidelines at all times — they bind every member, and the role does not exempt you from them.

If a Line Is Crossed

We don't enjoy enforcement, but the community needs to know we'll do it. Here's the ladder, in order:

Private conversation — most things resolve here.
Formal warning logged on your Pack Leader file.
Suspension of Pack Leader privileges pending review.
Permanent revocation of Pack Leader status — Founding badge included.
Account-level action under Terms of Service Section 7 (the No Jerks Policy) where the conduct extends beyond the role.

Where safety is at risk, we skip steps. We will always tell you why.

How This Becomes Binding

This Code lives by acceptance, not signature.

By affirming your commitment to the Pack Leader Code and accepting your Founding Pack Leader badge, you said yes — to the mission and spirit of TailsTrails and to the corresponding terms in the TailsTrails’ Terms of Service, Section 6 (tailstrails.app/terms). Your badge is the agreement. Building your pack is proof of it.

No paperwork. No countersign. No file to sign and return.

If you ever want to step back from the role, just tell us — the badge comes off without drama, and where Founding perks were earned, they stay with you as a thank-you for showing up.

Welcome, Founding Pack Leader. Go lead your pack.

TailsTrails Social Inc. | Pack Leader Operations | [email protected]