By GUEST COMMENTARY BY JACK NEWORTH
During warm summer evenings, Main Street in Ocean Park is teeming with locals and tourists, enjoying the nightlife. One popular tradition is “Happy Hour” at such renowned watering holes as Chaya Venice, the World Cafe and La Vecchia. Weighted down with cell phones, pagers and blackberries, sexily dressed people gather at the end of the work day for drinks, conversation, or romance. To passersby, it looks like a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.
But the latest socializing trend on Main Street has gone to the dogs. Literally. It takes place at the hip animal boutique Tails of Santa Monica. Every Thursday, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., they feature “Yappy Hour,” where dogs gather at the end of their “work”day,looking for... a milk bone? The owners of Tails, Jenna and John Wicks, generously set out light refreshments for the humans, and doggie treats for the K-9 corps. The gates are shut, the leashes come off, and the schmoozing begins. To passersby it looks like a whole lotta sniffin’ goin’ on.
I attended last week’s Yappy Hour along with my best buddy, Oscar, the golden retriever. I couldn’t help notice similarities between human, and doggie, happy hours, though the canines seem to dispense with the formalities. Almost immediately they get, for lack of a more genteel term, rather “nosey” with each other. That would definitely cause a fuss at the human happy hour.
Otherwise the pooches mingling seemed very human-like. As they worked the room, it looked like they were engaging in social chit-chat. I could have sworn I heard a wheaten terrier say to a Chihuahua, “So, do you live around here?”And I thought I over-heard a black lab say to a poodle, “Yeah, I’m a dog during the day, but nights I’m workin’ on a dynamite screenplay.”
One thankful difference between doggy and human happy hour is the marking of territory by males. (I’m referring to the dogs.) This behavior could present quite a problem at the ultra trendy Chaya Venice. How would it look if a male said to his friends,“You guys go get a table, I’m going to mark some territory at the end of the bar.” I think it’s safe to say the rest of the party would be probably not be getting that table.
Despite the number of fidos at Tails that evening, they got along famously. I started to have hope for world peace. Then I realized, I had drunk too much Chablis.
But there was one tiny problem. A young schnauzer was trying furiously to get friendly with Oscar in the biblical sense. Oscar gave him such a scolding, the little guy wound up with his tail between his legs. Of course it was doomed from the start. Oscar is male, plus the severe height difference presented insurmountable problems, no pun intended.
Fortunately the incident was soon forgotten. If it had been humans, say at the World Cafe, I would have expected law enforcement, not to mention an unflattering write-up in the newspaper.
“Tails of Santa Monica” is located at 2912 Main St. Santa Monica. If you have a pooch, have him or her bring you by to say hello. Just be prepared for a whole lotta sniffin’ goin’ on. (Jack Neworth can often be found riding his bike on the boardwalk with Oscar running alongside. To reach him, e-mail)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 30, 2006. Read the original PDF.