Mutts and Muttinis
Yappy Hours and the Single’s Scene
No pets allowed. Dogs on leash. Curb your dog. Oh, how the rules have changed.
In many European countries, dogs are not only allowed, they are welcomed in bars and restaurants. The United States is just getting used to hearing the click-clack of doggie nails on nightclub floors – and we love it.
The dog park is nice, but dirty paw prints on a Prada skirt aren’t. For a lot of folks, five o’clock means martinis and mingling, not mutts and mud. And so the “yappy hour” was born. Nine-to-fivers no longer have to worry about Fido home alone, tearing up the couch cushions. Just bring your dog and your best “come hither” look (if you don’t have one, that’s what the dog is for), and mingle with the other singles over cocktails and doggie bones.
St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ, regularly hosts a fundraising yappy hour, most recently on the terrace of a posh restaurant overlooking a golf course. Lisa Konefal, an office manager at Net Worth Management Group from South River, NJ, attended with Willie, her 11 year old Jack Russell Terrier.
“There were a few couples, but most people went without their spouse or were single,” says Konefal. “That’s one of the reasons why I went, because I’m single. But, there weren’t a lot of single men there. It was mostly women. Women take more time to spend with their dogs at social events. I met a lot of people – not single men – but there will be other events, I’m sure, where there will be single men with their dogs.”
Whether their humans are single or not, the dogs always have a tail-wagging time at these events. Elizabeth McCorkle, president of St. Hubert’s, says that they always have a “dog bar” at their events, where one of the local dog bakeries sets up treats and canine cakes. But the best thing about the yappy hour isn’t the novelty of paw-shaped bonbons or “Muttini” drinks. It’s that a pooch is better at breaking the ice than any pickaxe.
“Having a dog gets you out there meeting people and gives you some common things to talk about,” says Konefal. “I feel comfortable going out with other people that I have something in common with. You’re more at ease going up to someone when you have something in common, like owning a dog. You can start with, ‘What’s your dogs name?’ ‘How long have you had him?’ ‘Where did you get your dog from?’”
Making a human love connection at a yappy hour is probably just as likely as anywhere else, but the dogs making a love connection – that’s a given. Who can forget the spaghetti scene from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp?
Jordan Murray, owner of Camp Bowwow, Pittsburgh, Penn., says that the social events that his organization holds has inspired some true doggie love. One of those “couples” was a Chihuahua and a Chi-mix, a Katrina rescue, who “dated” after they met at a mixer.
There are few sure things in life, but you can always count
on your dog. That’s probably why social events like the yappy hour are becoming
more commonplace. The only other sure thing is that, on the morning after a few
“curmopolitans,” both human and hound are going to need a little hair of the
dog.
by Nikki Moustaki This article was originally published in Dog Fancy Magazine