About

Utah Pets and Handlers is a Pets and Handlers (PAH) group serving the pet play and kink communities in Utah.

We are committed to providing a safe and affirming community for our members and welcome pets, Handlers, Trainers, and friends regardless of age, race, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability status, or other categories. Whether you’re brand new to pet play or a seasoned member of the community, UPAH strives to provide a place where you can connect and grow with other individuals in the Utah kink and pet play scenes.

Our Areas of Focus #

Community #

Community is a core theme of UPAH, and the area we place the most emphasis. We recognize the power that community has, particularly for those who belong to marginalized communities, and strive to contribute to the commuinities we belong to and represent by creating spaces where individuals can explore and enjoy their interests in a safe and supportive environment.

As part of our commitment to community, we host regular events for our members, provide a Discord server to encourage connection between our members, and collaborate witrh groups serving adjacent communities to build the broader communities we represent.

Education #

We believe that education is critical to fostering community and understanding, both within and outside the communities we serve. As such, education is tightly integrated into how we engage as a group and with the broader community. We encourage lifelong learning and create environments in which individuals can feel safe asking questions and learning more about things they’re interested in.

As part of this focus, we provide a monthly orientation class, BDSM and Pet Play 101, which allows us to create common understandings of topics like kink, BDSM, pet play, and consent, establishing a base of knowledge through which members can interact and enjoy pet play together safely and effectively.

We also provide additional classes based on interest from our membership and as different topics come to the forefront of conversation. In addition, we integrate education into our outreach efforts, with an intent to educate especially those outside of our community about kink and pet play and debunk common myths and misunderstandings about them.

Outreach #

While we primarily focus on serving the communities we belong to, we also see the value in engaging in outreach efforts that bring more understanding about the communities we represent and issues critical to the communities around us. We believe that outreach is essential to understanding as well as community growth and invest time and resources to be visible, educate, and collaborate those outside of our own communities.

Leadership #

Patch (he/him) #

Bio coming soon!

Handler David (he/him) #

Handler David is a Handler based in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. As a member of and advocate for the pet play community, David likes to bring his inherent drive to support and care for those close to him to his practice as a Handler. David’s key accomplishments in the pet play community include his roles as co-leader of Utah Pets and Handlers (UPAH) and Dog Noises and his work to educate both within and outside of the pet play community on topics such as pet play, kink, and consent. As a soft Dom, David enjoys the duality being an affectionate caretaker to his pups by day and harnessing his Dominant side by night.

David’s personal mission in the pet play community is to bring forth positivity and continue to study and educate about the power of pet play, headspaces, and the impact of celebrating kink and queer lives. In his spare time, David enjoys learning, organizing, and smoking meats.