People meet pets for a day in the park
Four shelter dogs wagged their tails at everyone who came to the Pets at the Park event Downtown. Maddie, Jameson, Princess Leia and Vice Admiral Holdo let everyone pet them, walked nicely on leashes held by volunteers and didn’t misbehave in any way.
The dogs clearly enjoyed their three-hour outing in Mellon Square Park on Wednesday, but when the lunchtime event ended, the dogs went back to the Humane Animal Rescue shelter in Homewood. None were adopted.
Cats don’t usually attend these kinds of events, but a litter of five 9week-old male kittens seemed happy to be there. They couldn’t mix and mingle like the dogs because they were confined to two big cages for their own safety.
The kittens easily won the attention — and hearts — of Downtown workers, visitors and 20 volunteers from BNY Mellon. Their blue eyes made contact with people, they thrust their paws through the cage to pat those who stopped, and they wrestled with each other. Two kittens climbed up and down the bars of their cages, which was a real crowd-pleaser.
The kitten’s antics “worked.” All five were adopted.
That’s good news because the
kitten-birthing season has begun, and hundreds of kittens will be flooding shelters.
Pets at the Park returns to Mellon Square on July 18 and Sept. 12. This is the third summer that the events have been sponsored by BNY Mellon.
Joanne Kavulick, an architect and vice president at BNY Mellon, said that in addition to volunteering the services of 20 employees, the bank is donating $2,000 to Humane Animal Rescue.
Maddie, a 2-year-old fox terrier mix, was invited to cuddle on the lap of Mary Lee Marten. The Mars resident was in the city to celebrate her 85th birthday.
“This dog is absolutely adorable,” Mrs. Marten said. “If I was looking to adopt, I certainly would get Maddie.”
The dogs with “Star Wars” names attracted a lot of attention because they are small and cute. Holdo is a miniature dachshund, and Leia is a black Chihuahua mix with short legs and a long body. Both are 10 years old and need dental work.
Jameson, a handsome German shepherd mix, enjoyed the attention of Chris Lindsay, who works with BNY investment managers. The 9-year-old dog is friendly, calm and dignified.
Now on to the good news about the people who adopted the kittens. The most playful kitten — a gray and white tabby — was the first to be picked. Law student Andrew T. Bell says he has been visiting shelters because he’s ready for a pet. He bought a house in Mount Washington one year ago and recently bought cat toys and a carrier. He noticed that “his” kitten seemed especially attached to a blue-gray litter mate, so he adopted both.
Point Park University English professor Portia Weston was Downtown for a meeting in a nearby building when she saw pets in the park. She called her husband, Terry Dugan, who works at Fragasso Financial Advisors across the street. He joined her and agreed the time was right for new additions because two of their cats had died in the past year. The couple adopted two long-haired “buff” kittens, who will join four rescued golden retrievers and a 17-year-old calico cat in their Penn Hills home.
Downtown office worker Liz Skoncey of Dormont adopted the last and smallest kitten, who is nearly all white except for faint orange stripes on his tail.
“He’s the cutest! I can’t believe he’s the last to go,” she said as she filled out the adoption application and handed over her credit card.
Volunteers who walked the dogs were sad that “their” dogs were not adopted — yet.
Now here’s a bit of good news about the dogs: The shelter would have liked to send more dogs to the park, said Ann Yeager, chief marketing director at Humane Animal Rescue. But there aren’t many dogs in the shelter these days, because there have been many adoptions.