I rarely envy my friends who have spawned children. A shrink would probably chalk up my apathy toward the charms of youngsters as a side effect of being an only child, somehow. Even in my fourth decade of life, I lack the skills of knowing what is appropriate to say to children under the age of 10, but I know they make me nervous. Inevitably, I end up asking young people their feelings on far-flung topics like uncertainty in the current geopolitical climate and watch their big, beautiful eyes glaze over.
I am jealous of people who can take their human children everywhere, which is something we can’t do in the double-income-no-kids-two-dogs (DINKS-TD) demographic that sums up my personal life. It’s a bummer to leave the pups in the car to eat in Chipotle, but a toddler can freely squawk like an injured seagull at the local bar and grill and it’s cool. That’s probably why I get irrationally excited for dog-friendly events where I don’t have to leave the dogs at home listening to Tony Robbins wealth management audiobooks –– or whatever bored pups do with their free time.
This weekend marks the start of North Texas Beer Week (Oct 27-Nov 5) and includes some events for people with and without opposable thumbs. On Sunday, Pouring Glory Growler Fill Station & Grill (1001 Bryan Av), HopFusion Ale Works (200 E Broadway Av), and The Collective Brewing Project (112 St Louis Av) in Fort Worth are partnering up with WAG Canine Emporium to throw a Halloween-themed Sunday morning “pup crawl.” For your $25 ticket, you score a Kleen Kanteen-brand stainless steel pint glass and a beverage at each crawl stop. If you already have a pup crawl glass from previous events, the fill-up price is only $18 a ticket. Make sure to dress up your fuzzy buddy in costume for the crawl, as there will be special drawings and gifts aside from great beer.
Obviously, fall Sundays are all about Cowboys football for many North Texans, but finding a spot that allows pets, shows the game, and has great local brews is getting surprisingly difficult. Local favorite Wild Acre Brewing (1734 E El Paso St, Ste190) has a dog-friendly patio and will open its doors at 3pm on Sunday for the Cowboys/Redskins tilt and a North Texas Beer Week party. Wild Acre has nine screens throughout the place, so finding a viewing spot is easy –– and the bar will feature $4 pints. It is BYOTreats for both people and pets, though, so pack some chow.
On Saturday, South Side pizza slingers Cane Rosso (815 W Magnolia Av) will block off their parking lot from 1 to 6pm for Barktoberfest. This fido-friendly party will benefit Cook Childrens’ Sit … Stay … PLAY Foundation service dog program and Cane Rosso dog rescue. Fatt Chedder, a melding of local stars Kristopher Luther, Matt Mabe, Blake Parish, and Matt Tedder, will be on hand to provide the tunes.
While you are socializing with Scrappy-Doo at Cane Rosso, I’d recommend grabbing the restaurant’s Ginger Peach Tea mule. This light and bright cocktail is made with Peach Dream vodka from Fort Worth’s own Acre Distilling (1309 Calhoun St), Goslings ginger beer, lime, mint, and honey, then topped with a spice-glazed peach section. But don’t think your quadruped can’t have some happy juice, too, as Simba’s Barkery will serve up canine “cocktails” like Pupkin Spice Lattes and Doggie Ale Floats.
As with any local event that is dog-friendly, it’s a must to use a leash. This applies to fur-kids, toddlers if they are runners, and possibly even your buddy who likes to pull the ol’ Irish Goodbye at the end of the evening.
