Here's a piece of dating news just in time for Valentine's Day: You're three times more likely to meet someone if you have a dog with you. That's according to Deborah Wood, author of The Dog Lover's Guide to Dating [1], a how-to manual with advice on training your dog to fetch a date, worst date breeds and ice breakers. Of course, I'm not suggesting you run out and pick up 65 pounds of furry date bait, but if you already qualify as a single dog owner, why not make it work for you (and the dog)?
Wood writes about canine-friendly personal ads as one option, and there are plenty of online dating sites that make the most of animal magnetism (such as Leashes and Lovers [2] and Animal People Personals [3]), but this option doesn't offer the general pack friskiness and spontaneous mingling of off-leash gatherings or happy hours. While the shindigs listed below aren't singles-only events, the social potential of networking with dog people (the pick of the litter, in my opinion) is great.
CityDog magazine [4] hosts swanky, semiregular get-togethers for people and their pups at the W Hotel [4]. On this Valentine's eve, you can toast your four-legged soul mate and maybe scoop up a little puppy love for yourself at the CityDog Valentine's MuttMixer. Pet photographer J. Nichole Smith of Dane & Dane Photography will be on hand to snap portraits of you and your sidekick (available for purchase). One reminder: Although the bar and living room at the W are pet-friendly, dogs must be on leashes and under control at all times. (Feb. 13, 6 to 8 p.m. RSVP at rsvp@citydogmagazine.com [5].)
Downtown Dog Lounge [5]'s bimonthly Muttini Mixers are generally for customers only, but the gates will be open wide for good causes at the special Valentine's Day Muttini Mixer. With a canine fashion show and silent auction, this is not your average heavy petting over drinks. This fete is a fundraiser for Pawsitive Alliance [6], an all-volunteer organization dedicated to ending the killing of adoptable dogs and cats in Washington, and ARF [7] (Animal Relief Foundation ), a Downtown Dog Lounge nonprofit working to rescue, home, spay and neuter, and care for 62 Katrina dogs. (Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Capitol Hill. Space is limited for people and pooches, so an RSVP [8] is required. Nonclient dogs will be evaluated for temperament.)
Skip the sauce and dig into a little down-and-dirty playtime at Great Dog Daycare [8]'s weekly Yappy Hour in their day-care space near Northgate. Yappy Hour is a new twist on an old play-group approach. "We wanted to stir up the pot a little bit," Great Dog founder and co-owner Leslie Csokasy says about the gatherings.
In the past, Great Dog hosted breed-specific play groups, but Csokasy worried people were becoming "breedist" and forming little cults, "which was not in the best interest of everybody." Yappy Hour is all about fun and games across breeds, with trainers on hand to answer questions. Refreshments include soft drinks for humans and fermented bacon drippings and nonalcoholic beer for dogs. (Saturdays, 4:30-6 pm. $3 per dog. Dress as you would for the dog park. Unless, of course, you want to make a love connection.)
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