Bay Woof Party at Stray Bar
Last Saturday we spent the day enjoying Bernal Heights Park and hanging out with the Bay Woof crew at Stray Bar. Bernal Heights is one of the most dog friendly neighborhoods in San Francisco. Cortland Street is packed with dog friendly spots and we saw dogs of every shape and size during our visit. It seems like most of the stores have water bowls out front or dog treats at the counter. We especially enjoyed our visit to Bernal Beast, where we bought a new leash, and Progressive Grounds, where we got a delicious tuna melt.
After our park time and shopping we headed to Stray Bar for the party to celebrate the Beast of the Bay awards. The party featured live music and an raffle to support the Hearing Dog Program. Some of the raffle prizes included a stay at The Inn at Schoolhouse Creek, Hearst Ranch Dog Food, and toys from Pet Food Express.
Be sure to check out the March issue of Bay Woof for the most dog friendly Bay Area businesses and locations. If you want an excuse to visit Stray Bar there is another dog friendly event on Feb 12 from 4-8 PM to benefit the Hearing Dog Program. For more great photos from the event check out our Flickr set.
Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show
This weekend was the annual Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show. We stopped in on Sunday and had a blast seeing all the dogs. When we arrived the arena was packed and everyone was watching the sporting group. All the dogs looked great, but the crowd went wild when the Vizsla went around the ring. Of course, we went wild too since we are proud Vizsla owners. After the Vizsla was selected best in group we took some time to wander around Cow Palace and check out all the dogs and vendors. We talked to lots of people, including The Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue, Vizsla Club of Northern California, Great Life Pet Products, and Paco Collars.
We also met lots of great dogs including Bear, Bond, and Maverick, the number one Duck Toller. Check out some of the photos below or view the full dog show album on Flickr.
Chihuahuas For Christmas
Last night we went to another great doggie event at the Hotel Monaco, the San Francisco Chihuahua Meetup's Small Dog Christmas. The event featured plenty of food, drink, friends, and of course Santa. A number of our friends were there including Happy Hounds Massage and Grateful Dogs Rescue. Thanks to the Chihuahua Meetup for such a great event. We'll see you next year! You can see the rest of the great pics here.
Make Black Friday Dog Friendly
Dogs love shopping too!
The Thanksgiving holiday is just a few procrastination filled work days away, time to start dreaming of yummy Turkey, buttery stuffing, and if you’re like 63% of Americans, candied yams. Oh the dinner, the family drama, and the dog begging for table scraps… precious holiday memories. Not to worry though, soon your mind will turn from second helping remorse to savings, savings, savings! That's right, Black Friday is back. The day we excuse ourselves from civility in pursuit of the bargain.
But what about the dog? Consumer Reports says the average consumer will spend 13 hours holiday shopping this year. Long hours perusing the best deals means time away from the home and time away from the dog. Sad. What if there was a way to spend as much time as you wanted shopping, without having to worry about your dog being home alone, tied up outside the store, or racking up an expensive doggie daycare tab??? 1,000 points if you guessed the solution was Fido Factor. That's right, Fido Factor has made dog friendly shopping easy. Browse our 330 dog friendly retailers on our website or on the go with our free iPhone app and shop the day away with your best friend. Fido Factor details each stores' leash policy, permitted dog sizes, breakables, if other dogs will be there, treats, water bowls, and more. You will also want to be sure your dog is comfortable around large crowds. If Fido is skittish in groups, this Friday might not be the best day for a first jaunt around the city. Even if your dog is a crowd veteran we encourage all owners to review the following safety tips before venturing out with the dog - City Dog Basics
If all this info wasn't enough, take a look below at some of our favorite dog friendly stores offering special bargains this Friday. We've highlighted the dog policies for each and the Black Friday hours and sales, the only thing you need to worry about it is shaking off the Thanksgiving food comma. So grab the dog and spend some money, apparently we're in some sort of recession.
Best Buy Dog Policy: http://www.fidofactor.com/location/14843/best-buy
Special Hours: Doors open at 5am, tickets handed out as early at 3am – WOW.
Sales: Too many to list, check the link http://www.bestbuy.com/doorbusters2009
Nordstrom Dog Policy: http://www.fidofactor.com/location/2883/nordstrom
Special Hours: Doors open from 8am-9pm.
Sales: All clothing 33% off, Ladies shoes and boots 33% off
Pottery Barn Dog Policy: http://www.fidofactor.com/location/224/pottery-barn
Special Hours: 10am-9pm
Sales: Pottery Barn is keeping quiet about particulars, all sales announced Friday morning.
DSW Shoes Warehouse Dog Policy: http://www.fidofactor.com/location/562/dsw-shoe-warehouse
Special Hours: 8:30am-9pm
Sales: All Gucci products on sale
*All dog related information based on locations listed and subject to change. Please verify individual property policies before visiting.
Halloween Yappy Hour at Bloomingdale’s
Fido Factor has been hitting the doggie Halloween circuit hard and boy are we tired. However, when we got invited to Yappy Hour at Bloomingdale's we jumped at the chance to hob nob with the classy dogs while drinking some Mutt Lynch wine. The event helped to raise money for our friends at the SF SPCA and a number of their therapy dogs came out to enjoy the shopping.
Hotel Monaco Halloween
Halloween is still two days away, but the Fido Factor pups have already been out at three doggie Halloween parties in San Francisco. Last night the Kimpton's Hotel Monaco hosted a Halloween fashion show to raise money for the San Francisco SPCA. We have to give the Hotel Monaco five dog bones for throwing a great party. It was paws down one of the best events we've been to. The night included a runway fashion show hosted by Liam Mayclem, host of KPIX-TV’s Eye on the Bay, a silent auction, and even some treats for doggie owners.
South Beach Halloween
Sunday Fido Factor was out at the South Beach Doggie Halloween party in SOMA. The event was sponsored by some of the local dog friendly businesses including South Paw, Town's End, Java House, and Paragon. There were lots of great costumes as well as a raffle to benefit Muttville. Check out the pics below.
We Have A Winner!
For the last month we've been running our first contest in San Francisco. We wanted to see who really gets out there with their dog and thought a Mark Rogers pet photography package would be a great way to show our appreciation for some top notch reviews. Well, the votes have been tallied and and boy was it a close race. It was neck and neck until the final hours when user Nicole pulled ahead by a nose beating Inhornberger by a mere six reviews.
In addition to giving away the photo package, Fido Factor will also be making our usual donation to the SF SPCA for every one of the reviews and locations submitted. We'd also like to thank all the users that participated. We got a lot of interesting reviews, like Sookie's review of Death Valley or jjamieson's review of Boulettes Larder.
We hope to have more great contests in the future, and not just for San Francisco, so be sure to keep an eye out. Also, if you're a pet friendly business we'd love to have you as a contest sponsor.
More Halloween Fun
There seems to be a fun doggie event going on every weekend in San Francisco and the Bay Area. We're planning on adding dog friendly events to Fido Factor in the near future but for now check here on the blog or our twitter for the events we'll be attending. Up next, another dog Halloween festival in SOMA and Pet Pride Day in Golden Gate park, both on October 25th. The Halloween Pet Party is sponsored by SOMA's South Paw pet store as a fundraiser for Muttville. The Pet Pride Day in Golden Gate is hosted by Pet Camp and Animal Care & Control. We'll be at both events so come out and say hello.
Photos from Mission Creek Halloween
Saturday the parks department put on a doggie Halloween festival at Mission Creek Park in SOMA. Thanks to the all local dog businesses for donating the great raffle prizes. Check out all the cute puppy pics.