ANIMALS ON BROADWAY 2011

Well, last Sunday was Animals on Broadway in Walnut Creek.

And, as he has for the past 9 years, Louie was there to take part in the doggie walk as well as to partake of the festivities and free samples from the many booths that lined the street in the Broadway Plaza shopping center in Walnut Creek. Many animal rescue organizations had booths at the event and brought dogs along in hopes of finding them new homes.



Animals on Broadway is a fundraiser for Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) a worthy organization dedicated to finding homes for animals. Several of our neighbors have rescued dogs from ARF and these dogs are all wonderful companion animals. In addition to rescuing animals, ARF offers classes and other services to assist people and their animals.



Sunday started out rainy, but that did not keep any of us away.



As the day progressed, the sun came out.

We started with the walk that was about a mile long, best as we could estimate. It was very well organized and we all remained safe while walking on public sidewalks and crossing several intersections...there were wonderful volunteer monitors all along the way. Of course, there was always time to make the necessary pit stop.



Just past the finish line, there were places for the dogs to refresh themselves.




Louie made friends with many dogs. He seemed to single out other black poodles like himself, but made sure to mingle with dogs of all breeds.







Our Pet Sitter, Allison of Housepetality had a booth there and we visited with her and her staff. It was at Animals on Broadway several years ago, when we were in need of a pet sitter, that we found Allison and her company. We highly recommend Housepetality.



Here's Allison with her own dog, Finnegan.



And, this is Cody, who also accompanied Allison to the event.



Some dogs dressed up quite a bit.



The event went from 10:30 a.m. until at least 4 p.m. It's fun and a special fundraiser in which we always participate.

A GREAT DAY FOR DOG FEST

It's been raining all day today...not all the grapes have yet been harvested in the Napa Valley so this is not a good thing for grapes but it is nice for those of us who have done some fall planting.

But, today, from Noon until 6 p.m., it is Dog Fest at Sports Basement in Walnut Creek.

Until 4 p.m. there are adoptions, vendors, dog photographs, a best Halloween costume contest, an agility course, and even a substantial discount on purchases. At 4 p.m., they will be screening Sniff, the Dog Movie, with a discussion with the producer afterwards.

By the way, Sports Basement is our favorite place for gear for all sports as well as for casual clothing. A Bay Area local chain of just 4 stores, Sports Basement offers discounted prices on first quality items...everything from running shoes to yoga gear, to bicycles, to snowboarding equipment, to energy bars and supplements, and on and on. And, they are good neighbors to their community, helping out at local sporting events, hosting in store parties for just about any local group, offering free classes in everything from CPR to yoga to running.

So, we packed Louie up, with his Halloween Jester Collar on, for a photo and some fun.

Fun he had...in fact, a bit too much fun as he was the first to pee on the floor, although others followed suit, so I guess that just does with the territory. The Sports Basement staff was very gracious throughout.




Local vet techs, who also moonlight by pet sitting, took photos of the dogs. The first 50 dogs got free photos...very nice.







Here are a few more pictures of dogs in costume, enjoying the party.

This ladybug was very well behaved and very popular.




Fairy Princess held court wherever she could.



And, this guy really does go out backpacking with his owner and this is his real gear.


This young lady was a vision in pink while her mom shopped.

DOGGIE TREAT CALENDAR; THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT

High on my Holiday gift list are the pets in my life, both my own and those of friends and family.

Last year, I came up with Denning's Doggie Treat Calendar at Draeger's, a high-end grocery store with a Home/Gift department. Draeger's was founded in 1925 in San Francisco. Today, its four San Francisco Bay Area stores are located in San Mateo, Menlo Park, Blackhawk (Danville), and Los Altos.



This calendar was such a success as a doggie gift last year, that I just purchased several for Louie to hand out to his doggie friends for this Holiday Season.

The Doggie Treat Calendar is a doggie version of an Advent Calendar. It has 24 punch-out doors on a holiday scene with Santa delivering gifts to dogs of just about every variety. Behind each door is a healthful doggie holiday cookie. So, for each of the 24 days before Christmas, while you might be eating candy from your own Advent Calendar, your dog will be enjoying a daily treat.

This particular calendar is manufactured by Open Door Products in Corte Madera, Calfornia. The treats are from Simon and Huey's LLC-Dog Treats. At Dreager's the calendars sell for $12 each. They can also be ordered by the case of 12 directly from Open Door...price is less but you will have to pay for shipping.

I bought our calendars at the Draeger's at Blackhawk Plaza in Danville.

It has been a few months since I was last at Blackhawk Plaza and I was reminded of what a beautiful and bucolic place it is. Anchored by the Blackhawk Automotive Museum, Blackhawk Plaza has many shops and restaurants as well as a mulitplex cinema.




It's a great place for Holiday shopping or shopping any time of year. The Blackhawk Museum contains a unique exhibition of about 90 vintage cars that are displayed in two large galleries. The Museum also has an Automobile Reference Library and features other temporary exhibits, many of which are related to things automotive. Whenever my Dad visited me, a day at the Blackhawk Museum was a must-do on his list.

One of the new shops in Blackhawk Plaza is Anthropologie, a large store with clothing and accessories for women and a nice selection of gift and decorative items.



One more note about shopping at Draeger's: It's a great place for gifts as well as for all the foods and wines you might need for your holiday entertaining. If you don't have the time or inclination to cook, they feature a tempting selection of freshly-prepared dishes. As for gifts, their Home department features paper goods, China, Crystal, and other items that are as nice, if not nicer than those at fine gift shops. I may return to buy some of the Vietri Christmas plates and bowls that they are currently featuring. The added apoeal to shopping at Draeger's is that all their stores have plenty of free parking.

Happy Shopping!