Downtown's Urban Pioneers and Pups

Sure, all the hip new bars, restaurants, and residences have been an important factor in Downtown LA's revitalization. But don't discount the role that dogs have played in giving the area a new leash on life.

Yesterday, the Downtown Center Business Improvement District and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels held their eighth annual Dog Day Afternoon. The event was conceived as a way for Downtown's growing residential population to meet their neighbors. Many of the 54,000 residents (up from 18,800 in 1998) let their dogs out for the occasion.

DCBID EVP Hal Bastian, with his Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever mix Scooter, tells us dogs go hand in paw with downtowns because they help to breed a familiarity that otherwise wouldn't exist in a big city. "We don't often stop people on the street to say hello to them," he notes, "but we'll say hello to a dog, and so it helps build community."

Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik (with his dog Joaquin) says that when he moved to Downtown in 1989, it was a desert. "You couldn't see one dog walking down the street." Dog Day Afternoon started with maybe 75 dogs and has grown from there.

Sara Hernandez, Downtown area director for Councilmember Jose Huizar, calls the event a testament to how exciting things are in Downtown. "If we're going to make Downtown more livable for people, then we absolutely need to make it more livable for dogs and for pets."

The LAPD K9 Unit was presented with the "Best Buddy Award," in thanks for making the city safer with the help of their four-legged friends. One of them, Teo, is recovering after having been stabbed on the job several days ago. (He still caught the bad guy—good dog!) The award is named for Hal's late Golden Retriever Buddy, Dog Day's original host, who was dubbed the "First Dog of Downtown."

As the leasing director for Tom Gilmore's Old Bank District, the first community built in Downtown's residential renaissance, Hal discerned that the key to the project's success would be to make it pet-friendly.

Downtown's canine residents (and some of their humans) put on their finest for the festival-like event, which included food and music. This handsome dog donned a tuxedo.

According to Hal, about 29% of Downtown households have dogs, so they number in the thousands. It makes it easier for them to find a dance partner.

Since this is LA, you just can't get some canines out of their cars.