Baby's Day Out

Before I tell you more about Ripley and what happened to her, allow me to flash forward to the present to tell you a little bit about the dog life in Pittsburgh.  It's a happier tale to tell on such a beautiful fall day.

The view from our first yard

When my husky mix Cheyenne and I came ahead of the rest of the family back in January 2011, we were coming to a strange new world where we literally knew no one and had no real idea what kind of culture we would find outside of the world of Black and Gold sports, which I did know well.

No one had fences, so I would look out the kitchen window across all these backyards, the snow covering the landscape like a cotton blanket, completely undisturbed by anything more than the occasional deer track.  Except for our yard, that is, which quickly became a jumble of dog and human prints as we explored around our new home.  As I would look outside at all the pristine Currier and Ives settings broken jarringly by our trampled yard, I began to wonder if anyone here even really had pets.  I have no idea how long it was before I saw another home with dogs when I was out walking Cheyenne one morning, but as far as I knew they were a rare exception.

But an amazing thing happened when the snows finally gave way to the deep greens of spring; people began coming out of their homes, and with them came their dogs!  Dozens of them in my neighborhood alone!  Where were all these dogs and people all winter, I wondered.  But, regardless, there they were now!

And, like spring does in this area, the opportunities just blossomed.  Originally rebuffed by Lowe's (you can bring your dogs into the Lowe's in Round Rock, TX, so I was surprised and hurt that I could not in Ross Township), I learned that dogs were okay in the Home Depot only just down from the Lowe's.  And originally told that dogs were not encouraged at the Susan Komen Race for the Cure 5K, I learned that this was a soft suggestion and/or widely ignored. So Cheyenne trotted along with me at the not-so-tender age of 13.  Plus, there were dedicated dog walks for many of the causes I like to support anyway.

The Jerome Bettis Grille will welcome your dog in their outdoor seating area, as will Jergels (on Sunday).  There's a whole list of pet friendly eateries in Pittsburgh, as a matter of fact.  And of course there are Pup Nights at PNC Park.

Ripley at the Pup Crawl in 2013

Dogs, like I had accepted they were in Austin, it turned out are a part of the fabric of life in Pittsburgh.  So, when we planned our annual trip to the A Fair in the Park today, I didn't hesitate to decide to take a dog.

Another thing I was afraid of leaving behind in Austin was outdoor art festivals.  My primary source of unique gifts for years had been the Pecan Street Festival in Austin.  I shouldn't have worried.  There are a number of art festivals in the area.  But by far my favorite is A Fair in the Park at Mellon Park every September.  Sure the vendors are a bit pricey - it's a bit of a high brow outdoor festival, but there are vendors I tend to rely on too.  There is good live music and more than passable food.  All in a beautiful setting.  And today truly was the most beautiful of days.

I had never brought one of the dogs with me before actually because they do have some indoor vendors that I like to peruse, but this year, we decided to bring Sirius, since the whole family was going and someone could stay with him while I went inside.  So my husband packed him up and went ahead of the rest of us, who were bringing the human baby.

Taking a four month old puppy to a populated event with lots of activity going on is a bit of a risk, I will grant you. He's been a dream for the most part since he joined us in June, but he's only been to one other public event, and he was admittedly a handful that day.  But while he was a puppy, with a puppy's natural attention deficit issues, he was great!

An amazing thing happens when you bring a dog with you places.  You are suddenly approachable.  Fellow dog lovers immediately know you're one of them and will stop to talk.  Children's eyes will light up in delight at a pretty dog.  Make it a puppy, and it's like Christmas happened in September.  We met other collie owners actually, which surprised me - it's rare to see another collie in the area.  But it was fun to talk to them about their collies (both had smooth collies) and contrast and compare.  Pittsburghers are friendly anyway - in an oddly blunt way.  It's one of the things I love about living here.  But, let a dog do your introductions for you, and there are no strangers.

Granted, there are non-dog people in any group.  They can just keep walking if that's the case- no one is impeding them.  But, that's the beauty of a festival like that.  If Sirius - or any of the other dozens of dogs there today - bother you, there is plenty of space to get away from them.  In the meantime, Sirius made so many new friends today!