Ember Duke | layout editor |

The bark on the street this weekend was Halloween festivities. With the holiday just around the corner, dozens of people and their furry friends spent their Saturday at Dogtoberfest

The K-9 costume contest was held on Oct. 13 at Walter’s BBQ Southern Kitchen on Butler Street, in the bustling heart of Lawrenceville. It was a casual event for dog owners and lovers to socialize and relax in an animal friendly space.

The bar’s soft grassy outdoor area welcomed all types of paws, from a husky puppy to a French bulldog to a golden retriever. Wooden picnic tables and an overhead fabric pavilion mimicked the feeling of a cookout. People laughed and enjoyed food while their dogs sniffed, barked and sat in costume while enjoying the action of the day.

The event was run and organized by Storm Schaffer, the on-premise sales representative for Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Company. At the end of the day, she chose winners for three categories: Most creative, best pup and parent costume and best overall.

“People get really creative. Last year one of the winners was a spotted lantern fly,” Schaffer said. “It’s just fun to see, seeing all the dogs play. … It gets bigger and bigger every year.”

Chester the three legged St. Bernard-border collie mix was a beanie baby, with a big red “ty” heart hanging from his collar. Fastened to the stub of his missing leg was loose stuffing.

For best overall, Shitzu Cinnamon took the crown for her “puppuccino” outfit. The best pup and parent duo was awarded to a shiba inu dressed as a bee-monkey and its matching owner in a monkey onesie.

Local shelters Heart of Glass Animal Rescue and Paws Across Pittsburgh Animal Rescue had tables set up to promote their organizations and network with other animal lovers.

“We get to meet people and people get to know us, and then we usually end up hopefully having an adoption … because of an event,” said Heart of Glass owner Nicola Hill-Solomon.

She was joined by Tabitha, an up-for-adoption gray and white pitbull who sat wiggling happily at all the attention from new people.

“We try to work with special needs animals in the sense that we work with behaviorally challenged … physically challenged, socially challenged. Any animals that are having a harder time in a shelter environment,” Hill-Solomon said.

Pitbull-lab mix Jade sat under a table in her Big Bird hoodie next to her owner, Hannah Todorowski. As Todorowski talked, Jade conquered her shyness and poked her head out from under the table, letting out a succession of excited yips.

“I call her my brewery dog. I get to bring her everywhere, which is awesome,” Todorowski said. “She’s actually a Paws Across Pittsburgh alum. So we like to come to all the events. I fostered for Paws [Across Pittsburgh] for a period of time as well, so she has a really good foster dog sister as well.”

The event is designed to boost sales and give back to the shelters, Schaffer said. On Saturday, they were promoting Modelo and New Belgium Buddha Ranger. One dollar of every draft sale went back to the animal rescues that were there.

Though French bulldog Gnocchi wasn’t competing, he still donned a lion’s mane hood which matched his natural fur color. His human counterpart, Candy Fiore, came out to support Schaffer, her daughter, at the event.

“We have great food, great alcoholic beverages and just seeing all the different costumes. People are so inventive,” she said.

Meleys, a black and white doodle, took a more traditional Halloween approach with her bat costume. Owner Tiffany Bruzda planned to peruse the vendor tables and get some of Meleys’ energy out.

“We love Walter’s, we love Lawrenceville, and we love to take our dog to breweries. We figured this was perfect for her. This is her first Halloween,” Bruzda said.

Pup parents could buy treats for their best friends from Salty Paws Pittsburgh Doggie Bar and Bakery, who were vending there or commission a pet caricature by artist Jax Ayase.

“It’s just nice to meet people. It’s usually people who are really friendly and like pets, and they’re just happy to talk about their pets,” Ayase said.

Many people got an ink and crayon portrait of their dog throughout the day.

This was the third year the event took place, and the bar is planning to hold it again next October. Though there was no estimated turnout on Saturday, last year the event saw approximately sixty people throughout the day, Schaffer said.

Chelsea Wenner general manager and director of operations at Walter’s, said they are one of the more “dog friendly” spaces in the area.

“I think too, we just had a really good turnout from the community,” said Wenner. “We’ve got even more vendors this year than in the past.”