‘Dog Days’ help Paws with a Cause

Dogs from all over Pittsburgh brought their people out to play Saturday afternoon for the… Dogs from all over Pittsburgh brought their people out to play Saturday afternoon for the first “Dog Days of Summer” event at the Waterfront.

The first of three events of its kind, Dog Days of Summer featured tents sponsored by area vendors, dog-themed games and prizes, a raffle and a cover band performing everything from Genesis to Coldplay.

Kelli Gaghan, marketing coordinator for the Waterfront, said the inspiration for Dog Days came from the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, where she saw a group from Paws with a Cause, an organization that trains dogs to assist people with disabilities, march.

“I thought it was a great thing that they were doing, and I wanted to see if we could organize something at the Waterfront to benefit their organization,” said Gaghan.

Gaghan pitched the idea, and the resounding response from businesses in the Waterfront was “yes,” something could be done, and Dog Days was adopted. The close ties between Paws with a Cause and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society made it only natural that both groups become involved, said Gaghan.

“It’s a two-way goal,” said Gaghan. “I really want to bring people out to the Waterfront this summer and to raise $5,000 for Paws with a Cause and the Humane Society in three events.”

The money at Dog Days came from the purchase of raffle tickets for dog-themed prize packs.

Gretchen Fieser, director of marketing for the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, manned the raffle table and said the prizes were donated by stores at the Waterfront and catered to dogs and dog-lovers alike.

“It’s a first-time event, and it’s free, so the way we make money is by asking the Waterfront businesses to donate gifts, and then we raffle them off,” said Fieser.

As their owners browsed the information tents, dogs sniffed their hellos, sampled slightly modified “people food” from Omaha Steaks and cooled off in baby pools under the shade of tents as their owners picked up brochures for dog day camps.

Lucky Paws Pet Resort and Camp Bow Wow each had tents with bowls of water and brochures, touting amenities like live feed from Web cams that allow vacationing pet owners to watch their “campers” at play with their bunkmates at indoor/outdoor year-round campsites for dogs.

The Waterfront will go to the dogs twice more this summer, once on July 19 and a third and final time on Aug. 9 from 1 to 3 p.m.