Promoting a dog-friendly Richmond, Virginia
Jack tests the dog-friendliness of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, boutique retail. The ruling: five paws, way way up.
Don’t forget tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, and many dog-friendly mom and pop shops will offer special discounts and if you hit the right ones, like Mod Cottage in Rehoboth Beach, Fido can get a treat, too.
Jack makes his first Black Friday purchase — a bird cage holiday card holder — at Mod Cottage in Rehoboth Beach.
Mod Cottage — dogs welcome
Happy puppy; Happy Thanksgiving.
11-12-12 Dog in line at City Council public hearing on an economic development package with Bon Secours, the City, and the Washington Redskins.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Op/Ed, November 11, 2012, John Railey
“Geneva ‘Eva’ Railey is the curious sort.” – RTD
I was trying to write about a serious subject, the presidential election, as I worked on this column Tuesday night, watching CNN and the national poker game play out on the red-state, blue-state map. I was hanging on each breathless new report from Wolf Blitzer as he’d turn to John King and his endless updates of the map. President Obama was waltzing ever closer to what would be his win over Mitt Romney.But my Shetland sheep dog, Geneva “Eva” Railey (named both for a great-grandmother named Geneva and Eva Peron of Argentina), kept interrupting, dropping her favorite ball beside me and giving me a nose nudge to throw it for her.
Of course I did, every time.
But not being a perfect parent (my wife is a lot better), I kept my eyes on the screen as I played with Eva. After all, I’d talked to her on our daily walks about the election, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t showing more interest. Sometimes she’d get tired of my yelling at the TV screen, take her toy and trot off to her favorite room in the house, the one where she can stretch out on her pillow and stare out a front window, barking at passersby. But then she’d come back and start licking my hand, nudging me to play. I started thinking that pets are the serious subject I should be writing about. Continue reading at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Note: It is Veteran’s Day, and given this post is not focused on veterans, you can read my unique tie with my dog and the service from my very first blog post, here.
You’ve likely heard the buzz around Birch Box for people; well, this is Fido’s local-to-RVA edition. Sample the best boutique shop treats, chews, and toys—all natural and health conscious ingredients. It makes for the perfect gift for the dog-lover, especially those who have it all! Wag-in-the-Box will also make a donation to a charity of your choosing, like Fetch a Cure.
Gift a friend a few months subscription and they’ll thank you over and over again. Here’s to waggy tails.
THE DOG ECONOMY:American Pet Products Association (APPA) reports that its 2011-2012 National Pet Owners survey found 62 percent of United States households own a pet; that’s roughly 72.9 million homes. It also reports that in 2011, $50.96 billion—yes, with a B—was spent on pets in the United States.
Within a neighborhood crowd of hundreds, I took the blue ribbon for a costume contest. At five years old, I was Little Bo Peep and my Yorkshire Terrier, Duchess, was the sheep. My mom helped me glue about 100 cotton balls onto a baby costume. Duchess surprisingly loved it. Maybe it was warm or maybe she just basked in the attention. In the end, the judges revoked my “best costume of the year” after public backlash—Duchess was oozing so much cuteness that they disqualified us as unfair competition. Sour grapes?
For the love of blogging, I will share this photo. Circa 1980’s.
Luckily, canine costume contests are now all the rage. I like to think that I played some small part in the trendsetting. Duchess is posthumously a trailblazer.
Here are three costume contests for Fido in the RVA area this month:
Costumes for a Cure: October 30, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. happy yappy hour, followed by pet costume contest at Station 2. Sponsored by Fetch a Cure, Wag-in-the-Box, CVVA, inLieu, and Station 2.
Stony Point Fashion Park: Costume Contest for dogs October 21 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Prizes sponsored by Three Dog Bakery. Refreshments and trick-or-treats for pups.
Chesterfield County: Calling all costumed canines! The Ruff House Dog Park is hosting its annual Howl-A-Woof event at Rockwood Park, Saturday, Oct. 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dogs big and small can compete in a costume contest to see which is the best dressed, while humans can enjoy food and drinks, and browse the merchandise available for sale. A musical sit competition will challenge both two and four-legged competitors. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Friends of Ruff House Dog Park, a not-for-profit volunteer organization sanctioned by the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain and improve the park and enforce rules.
Photo Courtesy: Dessert Living Today
As we scrounge to take pleasure in the dwindling daylight and prepare for colder days ahead, it’s a good time to dine outdoors with your dog—not too hot, not too cold, we love September. Richmond no doubt has a love affair with food; there’s nothing better than a swirling glass of wine accompanied by a succulent spoonful of RVA fare. Now garnish that delight with your dog. Though Richmond Restaurant Week isn’t until next month, I called around the City to find which restaurants offering outdoor dining welcome dogs that are leashed and well-behaved.
Here’s the list. Let’s go on a food tour:
Acacia
Arcadia
Burger Bach
Bottom’s Up
Café Caturra
Can Can Brasserie
Home Team Grill
Millie’s Diner
Nacho Mama’s
Palani Drive
F.W. Sullivan’s
Rowland’s Fine Dining
Sette
The Water Grill
Many of these restaurants encourage guests dining with their dog to arrive during the less-crowded hours. Bon appétit!
*UPDATE: Legend’s Brewery was removed from the list after reader feedback. Thank you, Jen!
RVA dog lovers, and the not-so-inclined, have pinged back with questions in response to Make a pit stop in the Muttropolis. Mainly, they want visuals of what I’m talking about in terms of a place for your pooch. While the surrounding development plan—a tourist hub and minor league ballpark potentially—in Shockoe Bottom is yet to be formally rendered in the latest visionary forecasts, I can offer an example of what I believe is a top-notch dog run.
This takes us north to the District of Columbia; DuPont Circle specifically.
I realize not everyone will share this enthusiasm for what may be perceived as the crème de la crème of dog parks. These spaces can offer a two-for-one deal by creating a dual green space: an area designated for a dog run, and then an adjacent park for people.
HOW DO WE GET THERE?
Before making the case for a dog park politically, we need a community of believers and wanters behind it. Are you in?
In full disclosure, a friend of mine made a good point: We don’t want to designate RVA as the place for “crottes de chien”—translation: dog poop (he didn’t say it as lovely as that but I’ll spare you). This is about attracting people, the thousands of tourists among the millions who own a dog in America, to take a pit stop off the interstate and check us out and ultimately (hopefully) contribute to the tax base while they’re at it.
Dog parks should not stop at Shockoe Bottom; they should be detailed in the City’s river park system plan and peppered throughout our quaint neighborhoods. But more on that to come.
Photo Courtesy: Susan Lazear
Richmond didn’t make the cut. In fact, on a list of 100 cities, ranging from best (1) to worst (100), Richmond wasn’t anywhere on the radar. Yet, I’ve got a ticket for me and my maltipoo to the Flying Squirrels’ Bark in the Park Night this evening. Baseball and man’s best friend—it might not get any better than that. Maybe Men’s Health should add “things to do with your dog” to their rating index.
Here’s their formula:
Crunch the per capita numbers of dog parks, dog-friendly apartments, vets, animal shelters, and pet stores and services, along with the percentage of dog owners. Finally, we factored in state laws against animal cruelty, dog fighting, and puppy mills.
Virginia cities that did make the list: Chesapeake got a B-, Virginia Beach was rated C+. Ouch.
Number one ranked: Portland, Oregon. That’s an interesting find as Portland prides itself on a highly-regarded pro-cycling community and healthy lifestyles. With Richmond’s rising grassroots and grasstops for cycling distinction, rallied behind the anticipated Richmond 2015 World Road Cycling Championships, I believe we share similar healthy habit characteristics to Portland. And “Men’s Health” clearly cares about the healthy lifestyle aspects.
Captain Obvious: Dogs encourage a healthy lifestyle. For economic development purposes from the business standpoint, a community that supports a healthy lifestyle is a draw for companies looking to relocate. Businesses like to invest in wellness. So while we invest in cycling as a healthy habit, we should continue to promote the health qualities of a dog-friendly community like Portland.
The concept of Richmond landing in ratings like this one actually has legs. We just need to amp-up action and perception.
To Do:
I’ll let you know if I hear back.
See: Best Cities for Dogs, Men’s Health – September 2012 issue
RVA muttropolis 