‘ ‘ ‘ They sniffed one another’s behinds, dressed up in costumes and took pictures with Santa…. ‘ ‘ ‘ They sniffed one another’s behinds, dressed up in costumes and took pictures with Santa. It was a pet’s world at the annual Dad’s Pet Care Pittsburgh Pet Expo, held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this past weekend. ‘ ‘ ‘ Sponsored by Dad’s Pet Care and Clear Channel Radio, the event brought together performers, contests and charities, all for the entertainment of the pets. The convention center was packed from wall to wall with booths set up to cater to the owners and their animal friends. ‘ ‘ ‘ Food and supply manufacturers were there to sell their goods to pet owners and animal shelters, and breed rescue groups came with kittens, ferrets and puppies, hoping to act as matchmakers for people looking for new pets. ‘ ‘ ‘ According to Rocco Lamanna, integrated marketing executive for Clear Channel and the event’s producer, this was the pet expo’s fifth year running, and they plan to keep it up because of the good reaction from the public.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Families can bring their animals to the pet expo, and it’s a fun two days where they can not only watch, but participate in activities,’ he said. ‘There are over 100 vendors and education seminars.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Though Lamanna was expecting a turnout of around 10,000 people, the attendees that everyone cared about were the animals. He said that people predominantly bring dogs, but any animal is allowed as long as it is on a leash, and it’s not poisonous.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘People have brought miniature horses, donkeys, snakes, ferrets and even rats,’ he explained. ‘ ‘ ‘ One woman carted her talking parrot around, and others strapped their cats to a leash, walking them through the building like another one of the dogs.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Niki Dropik’s cat Oliver lounged around the space while dogs three times her size sniffed and nuzzled her. Dropik said that she comes to the pet expo for something different to do on the weekend and the many giveaways of free samples. She said that Oliver never has a problem with the unbalanced dog-to-cat ratio.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘He’s not even around dogs on a normal basis, he’s just very mellow,’ she explained. ‘He’s also deaf, so he’s not bothered by the noise.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dogs were barking everywhere at the expo ‘mdash; sometimes at the sight of another pet or animal performer and sometimes for no reason at all.’ The event that dogs seemed to be most vocal about was the ‘Ultimate Air Dogs’ showcase. Owners would throw their dog’s favorite toy into a long pool of water, and the dog would jump in after it. The dog that jumped the farthest would win a prize. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pittsburgh Pet Expo brought many other attractions to the convention center to entertain these dogs ‘mdash; in ‘Dancing with the Dogs,’ a woman and her dog danced a freestyle routine to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ songs, and ‘Hot Dog Pig Races’ had pigs race each other around the fenced-in race track. ‘Pittsburgh’s Ugliest Pet Contest’ was pretty self-explanatory. ‘ ‘ ‘ While most booths in the convention center were set up to sell or advertise something, other groups set up booths to get their word out about animal causes. ‘ ‘ ‘ White Oak Animal Safe Haven, Inc., a no-kill, nonprofit animal shelter, came to the pet expo for its third year in a row to push awareness for its ongoing cause.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s really not a money-maker for us, but it’s good for PR, being that we’re not government-run,’ said Renea Shine, a volunteer at White Oak. ‘ ‘ ‘ Shine said that its goal is to not only find homes for its dogs and cats ‘mdash; they have done this for 6,000 animals in the past five and a half years ‘mdash; but find the right homes for them. White Oak did not bring any of its available pets to the expo, though. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We don’t bring any because some owners can’t control their animals, and there is a lot of disease going around this place,’ said Shine. ‘We saw a couple fights here, but that’s not because of the dogs ‘mdash; it’s because of the owners.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Local pet owners brought dogs of all shapes and sizes.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Some resembled large bears, others resembled large rats. Many animals were dressed up for the ‘pet costume contest ‘pup’ rally’ in the afternoon. This meant little terriers were walking around with hats, and beagles were dressed up as pumpkins and princesses.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ One dog sported the outfit of a teenaged girl trekking around the mall ‘mdash; a jean mini skirt and tank top. ‘ ‘ ‘ And just like the parents carting those teens around the mall, the pet expo was all about the pets.