Category Archives: Animals

A Doggone Good Day With Beer

On one of the first warm days after what has been never-ending and cold winter, we got to go outside and take our dog to the dog park (in our case, the Highland Park Dog Run). And thank goodness we got to go out; our little dog has been chomping at the bit after being limited to short walks. The dog park was super muddy, which made it even more fun!

Tennis Ball + Dog = ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Our adventure was your pretty standard with a long classic game fetch; i.e., we throw a ball, and our dog, kind of, brings it back.

After forty minutes of running around in the mud it was time to head home, wind down, and just hang out. Luckily, we recently got our hands on a special mix of beers from Great Lakes Brewing Company, which included: Dortmunder Gold Lager, Eliot Ness Amber Lager, Turntable Pils, Commodore Perry IPA, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, and Holy Moses White Ale. While we can’t deny that we have an affinity for beer made right here in Pittsburgh, the Steel City is a diverse powerhouse that has stepped out onto the national stage, we, of course, have access to beer from all over, like from our neighbors in Cleveland, Ohio.

Amongst these tasty brews, we found ourselves lost in thought when drinking the Dortmunder Gold Lager. It has the drinkability of an American lager with a subtle depth of flavor. A light underlying sweet maltiness is complemented by a touch of bitterness that results in a smooth medium-bodied beer that perfectly fits with our day. It’s the kind of beer that makes you want to be outside taking in some sun or hanging on the porch with your four-legged friend in your lap (well maybe not in your lap until your pup has had a bath to remove all that mud!). While we do like lots of different types of beer on this day this lager is totally ours. The only thing that would make the day better would be to add pierogi to go with this beer.

Dortmunder Gold Lager

You can fetch Great Lakes Brewing Company beer (yeah pun!) here in Pittsburgh by using the following link: www.greatlakesbrewing.com/beer-finder. (On this list, is the Tipsy Cow that allows dogs in their outside seating).

 

Bonus: Swag

Great Lakes Brewing Company is also giving away swag. Who doesn’t love swag?

Here’s how:
Go on the Twitter or Instagram machine
Post Great Lakes Brewing Company brew is yours – perhaps with a photo or video and tag @IheartPGH, @GLBC_Cleveland, and #GLBCisMine
Await contact for some super awesome swag.

 

Disclaimer: You must be 21 to drink alcohol in the state of Pennsylvania. We were asked to try this beer and we really did like the Dortmunder Gold.

Acro-Cats in Pittsburgh

The Acro-Cats are coming to Pittsburgh

Yes, there is a cat circus. And yes, the cat circus is coming to Pittsburgh. This is not the first time the Acro-Cats bus has rolled into Pittsburgh. From my social media research, it looks like the Acro-Cats tour has made stops in Pittsburgh in 2013 and 2015.

Here are a few fun facts about the Acro-Cats purformances:

  1. The final act of the Acro-Cats show is a performance by The Rock Cats. The world’s only all cat rock band.
  2. The cats travel in not one, but two custom cat vehicles.
  3. 1420 people donated $153,362 on Kickstarter to fund the Acro-Cats tour bus.
  4. You can volunteer to help with the show and attend for free. Volunteers are needed to help with everything from merchandise to liter box scooping. More info on how to volunteer is below.
  5. Acro-cats was originally acro-rats. Acro-cats trainer, Samantha Martin, had an Acro-Rats Circus prior to starting Acro-Cats. (You can read more about Martin and the Acro-Rats in this 2015 LA Times article.)
  6. Cluck Norris is a chicken who often joins the Acro-Cats on stage. You can see a photo of Cluck here.

Acro-Cats Pittsburgh

A cat circus?

The Acro-Cats cat circus is a performance where the trainer has the cat performers do tricks for the audience. The Acro-Cats troup was founded by Samantha Martin in 2005. Before starting the Acro-Cats, Martin had a rat circus, name Acro-Rats. The Acro-Cats have been touring since 2009.

As I was writing this blog post, I was wondering if this is safe for the cats? The Ringling Brother Circus stopped using elephants in 2016 after public concern for the welfare of the animals. I found no statements about Acro-Cats or circus cats on the PETA website. The Acro-Cats website has many posts about adopting cats and partners with animal welfare organizations as they travel across the country. According to the Facebook event for Acro-Cats in Pittsburgh, the local partner is the Humane Animal Rescue League (This is the new name for the Humane Society and the Animal Rescue League, which merged last year).

Acro-Cats Pittsburgh Purformances:

acrsocats pittsburghLocation: Bricolage’s Theater, 937 Liberty Ave., 1st Floor

  • Wednesday, October 11 @ 7pm
  • Thursday, October 12 @ 7pm
  • Thursday, October 13 @ 7pm
  • Thursday, October 14 @ 4pm
  • Thursday, October 14 @ 7pm
  • Thursday, October 15 @ 1pm
  • Thursday, October 15 @ 4pm

Facebook Event for the Acro-Cats Pittsburgh performance.

Tickets for Acro-Cats Pittsburgh shows:

  • General Admission $24.80
  • VICP (Very important cat people) $40.32

Volunteer to help with Acro-Cats in Pittsburgh and attend for free!

If you would like to help with some of the behind the scenes setup of the Acro-Cats show, you can sign up to be a volunteer for the show here on this Doodle page. Volunteers will be asked to help with things like merchandise and cat care, which the volunteer FAQ notes includes scooping liter boxes. You can read the entire Acro-Cats volunteer FAQ here.

Join the Cat Circus

If you have always wanted to join the (cat) circus, now is your chance… The Acro-Cats are looking for a tour assistant to help with this traveling show…

This job opportunity is PURRRFECT for the right candidate. Pay is commensurate with experience. This could be considered full time work for the right person.

If you are interested in the position, check out the job description here.

More Acro-Cats?

Looking for more interesting events in and around Pittsburgh? Check out our Pittsburgh events calendar for lots more concerts, fundraisers, film screenings and more.

And now, a word from our sponsors…

  • If you are a fan of Uber or looking for a way to skip the parking headache when you head to the Acro-cats Pittsburgh purformance, check out Lyft. Use code PGHEVENTS to save $5 off your first ride. (Lyft is also hiring drivers in Pittsburgh,  Youngstown & Morgantown – apply online here and get a $500 new driver bonus. )
goat eats kid in lion costume

Video of Goat vs. Little Lion at Schramm Farms

goat eats kid in lion costumeI am not one for watching and sharing animal videos.  But, I will make exceptions … my friend Olga shared this video of her daughter visiting Schramm Farm and meeting the goats.  Olga’s daughter was wearing her lion costume to visit the farm.

This goat was a fan of this little lion and Olga happened to be recording their encounter.  The little lion is completely fine – a little shocked, but fine.  I am sharing this video with the permission of the parents.

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Goat got her good! @pogoda13

View on Instagram

Vulture Fun for the Whole Family

Vulture

Vulture (Photo credit: clio1789)

Yep.  That is supposed to say vultures.  Now that the olympics are over – I know everyone has turned their attention to the I know everyone is thinking about shark week.  The National Aviary wants to remind you about another important member of our eco-system… vultures.

The National Aviary is hosting a special program this weekend – the Value of Vultures.

  • With paid general admission, visitors to the Aviary will be able to participate in a variety of fun vulture-themed activities for all ages, including educational displays, crafts, trainer talks, live encounters, and (of course) a scavenger hunt!
  • August 18 & 19, 2012

http://storify.com/iheartpgh/the-value-of-vultures

A PITSburgh Partnership – The Cotton Factory and Hello Bully

When one hears “dog shirts”, the visual of a small dog gnawing at a tight knit sweater may come to mind, but CottonFactory.com and TeeRex Syndicate had something else planned when they partnered with Hello Bully to promote Pit Bull welfare in the Pittsburgh area.

In 2002, before she and her husband founded TeeRex Syndicate and purchased CottonFactory.com, Samantha Ginsburg was the proud owner of two rescue Pit Bulls from Animal friends and four cats. Samantha and Stephen then purchased the CottonFactory.com and founded TeeRex Syndicate, two companies that work together to sell specialty screen printed tee-shirts and clothing. TeeRex Syndicate and CottonFactory.com are “local Pittsburgh company[s] run by a group of obsessive designers, artists and printers” Samantha said. Based in 6000 square ft studio in the Friendship neighborhood, the Tee Rex team designs fun tee shirts, hoodies, aprons, tote bags, and scarves. Samantha said one of the reasons she and her husband enjoy owning their own company is “we like to do things with a cause”. Samantha has about as much Pittsburgh Pride as any local business owner, and proudly supports local designers and artists through the “Handmade Arcade” and “I Made It! Market”, as well as regularly partnering with local non-profits.

Samantha also has a special place in her heart for Pit Bulls. She is the proud owner of a Pit Bull and has seen the first hand the hardship these four legged friends of ours can go through. We this in mind, Samantha, TeeRex Syndicate and cottonfactory.com joined up with “Hello Bully” to produce a line of dog tee-shirts and aprons to support the organization. Hello Bully an all volunteer run 501(c)3 devoted to improving the welfare of Pit-Bulls. Hello Bully sponsors everything from Pit-Bull owner education, a half way home and rehabilitation for hurt Pit Bulls, and an aggressive spay and neuter campaign that has spayed or neutered at least one Pit Bull per day since 2009. Many Pit Bulls are used for dog fights, brandishing them with a rather unfortunate public image.

Samantha and Stephen “paired up once again [with Hello Bully] to bring back limited edition items for the month of May” she said. The “PITSburgh” line of tee shirts and aprons feature Samantha’s own Pit Bull, Tank Girl. The dog shirts are made for humans, not dogs, and the designs are currently up on www.cottonfactory.com. $3 of every apron sold and $5 of every Tee-Shirt sold go to support Hello Bully and advertise the nice side of the Pit Bulls.

The sale just has a few days left! Go to www.cottonfactory.com to see the PITSburgh line of shirts and aprons.

And if you’re looking for a furry companion to join your house go to http://www.hellobully.com/adopt.html to see the animals they have for adoption.