My grand plans for blogging daily while in Portland have not materialized- but if you've visited Portland, you know why. There is just so much to do in this town, and not enough hours in the day. Portlanders (Portlandites? I'll need to check into what the preferred term is) love their micro-brew, their bikes, their sandals and their dogs, not necessarily in that order. While I have no scientific proof to back this up, I have to say that they also appear to adore black dogs. I am the type of person to notice dogs wherever I go - I can't help it - and because of my passion for black dogs I take special notice when I see one walking down the street, lounging on a porch or sticking it's head out of a car window. Even the route down the Columbia River Gorge found us running into black dogs galore, like Lucky and Cami, who we met as they were about to hike to the Multnohmah Falls Bridge.


That said, I was surprised to see an unusually large number of black dogs on the streets of Portland this week. I also found that most of the black dog owners I spoke to had never heard of Black Dog Syndrome. Some cards made their way into the hands of folks we met, who went off a little more thoughtful after realizing that their beloved black dogs were among the lucky ones that found their way into a new home.


At the Third Thursday Art Crawl on Alberta Street artists and musicians line both sides of the street for block after block. It’s a huge party – you see and hear just about everything on Alberta Street. Yesterday’s weather was perfect, and we strolled for hours just people and dog watching. Among the many amazing street vendors we encountered were several groups raising money for local animal rescues or shelters.


The crew from Helping Paws Resale and Boutique at The Willamette Humane Society were selling boutique clothing like hotcakes. A unique way to raise money to be sure, though it occurred to me that it would have been a great opportunity to bring some dogs for an off-site adoption event -- or if that wasn’t an option, brining a few of the lower key dogs needing homes along may have generated adopter interest. The crowd was mellow, peaceable and there were dozens of dogs out walking with teir humans, so I can imagine that a few from a shelter would have fit right in. If neither was n option, I also would have loved to see a simple tabletop display with Featured Adoptable Pets at the Boutique – maybe that would have caught someone’s eye? The dog loving Portlanders filing by might have spied a dog they could not live without – what a great audience to get the dogs in your care in front of! Something to consider if you work with a rescue and want to get exposure for your animal during the busy summer season.


During the course of the week I was also glad to see my road trip pal Hunter, the dog rescued from a high kill shelter in Rural Wisconsin by my friend Nicki had settled in to his new home on the banks of the Willamette River. Hunter is not yet a river dog, but there are plans for him to become a regular fixture on Nicki and Dave’s boat. I’m waiting for that first photo of him, hair streaming in the breeze and he surveys his new river kingdom.


Today it’s off to The Second Annual Organic Beer Festival on the waterfront for music, food, beer and of course dog and people watching. My cards are ready to go and I’m ready to make more black dog connections before catching the red eye back to Minneapolis tomorrow. We’ll fetch our own black dogs from where they’ve been romping all week at Downtown Dogs . I may have to give Sugar a doggie energy potion before our weekly Black Dog Walk this Sunday at 10:30. I’ll see you there, in front of the Pavilion . I hear the Minneapolis weather has been gorgeous, and we’re rested, inspired and ready to get back to work on the website and on scheduling black dog events on our own home turf.