Pooch Promenade (I'm Not Making Up That Title)

Ah, The Heights.

Where else would you wake up on Saturday morning, ride your bike to the park with your partner and your dog, and enter the aforementioned canine in a competition for glory and prizes against a dog wearing a top-hat and a dog wearing a costume that strongly resembles Indiana Jones?

Yes, The Heights.

One of our quaint little sub-neighborhoods within The Heights, Proctor Plaza (also known as Norhill), held a fundraiser and community get-together at Proctor Park (W. Temple Street) this past Saturday. For the purpose of ethics in journalism, I have to disclose that I am, in fact, a Proctor Plaza resident. And, to complicate matters, I entered my bloodhound, Hoss, in the competition for Most Handsome, so I am hardly an objective observer.

The Pooch Promenade is the kind of thing that makes me want to pinch our neighborhood's cheeks and say, "You are too cute!"

Seriously? A competition to crown:

• The Dog with the Prissiest Tail
• The Dog with the Best Story
• Best Owner/Dog Look-Alike
• Best Dressed Dog
• Most Talented
  
• Most Beautiful & Most Handsome (a.k.a. Mrs. & Mr. Proctor Plaza)

How quirky and adorable is that?

When the president of the neighborhood association announced each category, dogs and their owners who wanted to enter would come forward and stand in a line. Then the dogs and owners would parade around in a circle, so all the onlookers (who were also the judges) could get a good look. Finally, the president would announce each dog/owner combo and the audience would use the intensity of their clapping to indicate their vote.

The voting system left a little to be desired. I mean, the woman who sported a camouflage jacket and a beret and dressed her dog in a camouflage vest didn't win the Owner/Dog Look-Alike contest.

Several neighborhood businesses (like Beer Island, Shipley's Donuts, My Dog and Me, Ace Hardware, Wabash, Fiesta, Venus Hair, and ioMosaic--just to name a few) donated gift certificates and cash to help make the event possible. I'm so impressed--especially given the economic crash and burn we're experiencing--that businesses would give so generously to help make a local community event possible.

It was also a chance to get to mingle (which I am so bad at!). We talked to a few people (dogs are great conversation starters), but we didn't maximize our chance to meet new people. We've only lived in The Heights since July, so we're trying to build our cadre of neighbor-friends. Maybe next time...

I do have to say that I'm a little bitter that Hoss didn't place at all in The Most Handsome category. He hardly got any claps. Look how sad he is. (You can make him feel better by voting for him in the comments section.)