On September 30, the SF SPCA and 7x7 turned Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley into San Francisco's center of petcentricity for the second annual SF Dogma—one of the city's liveliest street fairs where hundreds of supporters came out to meet local artisans, merchants, and proprietors of all things pet-related. It was a gorgeous, warm and sunny day for petlovers to meetup, catchup—and possibly pickup a new furry friend!
Several rescue groups were on-site with a bevy of adorable animals ready for new homes, including San Francisco Animal Care and Control, Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, Loup Garou, San Francisco Chihuahua Meetup, SaveABunny, and MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue. The SF SPCA itself offered free adoptions during SF Dogma.
Visitors occupied themselves with a slew of booth activities, including SF SPCA's Dr. West offering acupuncture advice, and trainers discussing classes and playgroups; Happy Hounds Massage's $1-per-minute sessions, with proceeds benefiting rescue orgs; City Dog Share, SF's only doggy-sitting co-op; Pet Food Express supporting doggy health; Zipcar signing up Zipsters and showing off free cat carriers for your next Ziptrip; DogTrekker.com, the best resource for traveling with your dog; beautiful clothes and accessories from Mijo & Bambi and Wildebeest; Wag Hotels, the city’s premier pet hotel; plus Howie & Friends, producers of a cute interactive cat book. Humans also got relaxing treatments from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The highlight of the day was the Pet Talent Competition, which was open to talented and stylish animals of all kinds—dogs, cats, birds and whatnot—showing off for bragging rights and bunches of prizes. Esteemed judges included SF District 5 Supervisor Christina Olague, Uptown Almanac’s Kevin Montgomery, Greg Jenkins of Brunswick Group and Harper Clementz, a student at the French-American School in Hayes Valley and one of the SF SPCA’s brigade of young animal advocates.
The big winner turned out to be Biscuit, a smart and bouncy Pomeranian whose talents included bobbing/weaving/jumping with human Ivy Chen, and kicking a ball into a basket… behind him! There were also runners-up chosen, and all winners received a variety of goodies, which may have included: a Muttmover Backpack from Timbuk2; a 2-night stay at a Large Deluxe Suite at Wag Hotels; a coupon for one housecall visit by Happy Hounds Massage; a free acupuncture consultation and treatment at American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine; $175 credit toward Zipcar; a costume from Mijo & Bambi; pet gear from Wildebeest; a special book package from Chronicle Books; a complimentary pet portrait session from Nuena Photography; and a $250 SF SPCA Gift Certificate and Swag Bag.
Visit the SF SPCA's website to find out about more amazing events throughout the year!
Photography: Ashleigh Reddy | stayreddy.com
