On a drizzly Saturday afternoon, Sadie, Molly, Winston, Keeta and Hudson lounged around the patio at Latte Da Coffeehouse and Wine Bar in Vancouver. But the new friends weren’t sipping on coffee or wine.
Instead, they chomped on dog treats and received a lot of love and attention from their owners and other humans who attended Latte Da’s first Pups and People Meetup.
About 10 people and their dogs came out Saturday to hang out and support Must Love Dogs NW, a Vancouver nonprofit animal welfare group.
“It’s an opportunity for people in the neighborhood to bring their puppies down, or cats, llamas, whatever they want to do,” said Scott Flury, who owns Latte Da with his wife, Sarah. The Flurys recently acquired a “fur baby” of their own, Hudson, an 8-week-old black Goldendoodle.
“We’ve wanted to do something like this for quite a while. We have a lot of people who come to our walk-up window with their dogs,” Scott Flury said. “We want people to know we are very animal-friendly.”
He said the business’ manager, Alex Mackey, came up with the idea.
The coffeehouse designed colorful bandanas and is selling them for $10 each to benefit Must Love Dogs NW. The nonprofit was founded in 2008 and aims to end pet homelessness in the community by educating the public on responsible ownership; re-homing abused, neglected or homeless dogs; and providing spay and neuter and microchip services.
The bandanas just came in, Flury said, and they’ve already sold about a dozen.
Winston, an English bulldog, sported a green one. His mom, Vikki Green of Vancouver, had stopped by Latte Da to grab a coffee and saw a flier on the counter about the event, “so I thought, ‘Let’s go in,'” she said.
She, her husband, Steve, and Winston had just finished the Oregon Humane Society’s Doggie Dash in Portland, where Winston, who has a noticeable underbite, won a kissing contest.
“We are always trying to support local, and the dogs that need adoption,” Vikki Green said.
In choosing to support Must Love Dogs NW, Mackey said she did extensive research to make sure all of the proceeds would go toward the well-being of dogs, and not administrative costs. She said she had always wanted to do an animal-related fundraiser at Latte Da, and chose to support the nonprofit because it is a no-kill rescue.
“They try to find homes for every kind of dog,” she said.
On Saturday, Must Love Dogs NW showcased two adoptable dogs: Ginger, a 2-year-old boxer and pit bull mix, and Boogie, a 6-year-old Beagle mix.
Christina Long, an assessment coordinator for the nonprofit, said they currently have 11 dogs available for adoption. All of the dogs can be viewed online at mustlovedogsnw.org.
Being the first meetup, both Flury and Mackey said they had no idea what to expect. But they hope as the weather gets nicer, more people will come out.
“I know it takes time to get the word out there. We are hoping it continues to grow and that we are able to give more and more support to this nonprofit,” Flury said.
Latte Da now plans to hold the monthly meetup every second Saturday of the month from 9 to 11 a.m. at 205 E. 39th St.
“We hope it brings out people so they can make new friends and support a good cause,” Mackey said. “We’ve seen lots of smiles on the dogs’ faces.”
