Dear urbanhounders,

As the heat and humidity settle in for the summer (and we start wondering why we subject our dogs to city life) we figured it was time to be reminded of what makes this is a great town for hounds. Herewith, urbanhound.com's second annual edition of The Top 10 Reasons NYC is Great (for dogs):

10. The ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement agents whose heroics are portrayed on Animal Precinct;

9. Smart, funny blogs devoted to a hound's life in NYC, like Poop City;

8. Tireless advocates for dog runs and off-leash hours, including Mary McInerney of FIDO, Bob Marino of NYCDOG, and, most likely, someone in your neighborhood;

7. The amazing success of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, a coalition of more than 100 local rescue groups that is steadily bringing down the euthanasia rate in city shelters;

6. The Good Dog Foundation, a non-profit that trains human/dog teams for such tasks as helping at-risk kids learn to read;

5. New Department of Parks rules that are moving in the right direction towards making the city's parks a paradise for hounds;

4. Super cute dog boutiques that are popping up all over, like District Dog in Greenpoint;

3. The new book Best Hikes With Dogs: New York & Beyond;

2. BARC's touching Happy Tails of shelter dogs and their new famillies;

1. And yes, this city's remarkable number of events devoted to DOGS (and the fact that NewsHound tells you all about them).

With best Gotham wishes to you and your hounds,

Nadia Zonis
Editor, urbanhound New York

Coffee Bark
Saturday, June 2, 7 AM to 9 AM
Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Held in rain or in shine, in the park's Long Meadow, behind the Picnic House (enter at Prospect Park West and 4th Street, then go left around the Picnic House), the monthly Coffee Bark includes muffins for humans and dog biscuits for hounds. The long standing social is sponsored by Brooklyn's FIDO, officially known as the Fellowship In the Interest of Dogs and Their Owners.

Dog Run 87 Clean Up
Saturday, June 2, 10 AM
Riverside Park at 87th St., Manhattan
Pitch in and help to clean and resurface the run. Please leave your dog at home.

Leroy Street Dog Run Bow Wow Pow Wow
Saturday, June 2, 11 AM to 2 PM (Rain date: Sunday, June 3)
Leroy St. at the northeast corner of Pier 40, Manhattan
Coffee, donuts, juice, and dog biscuits at the Leroy Street Dog Run plus a discussion about the bids to develop Pier 40 and, hopefully, a trainer to teach a trick and answer questions. Hosted by the Friends of Leroy Dog Run. They can be contacted at leroydogrun@yahoo.com.

Brooklyn Industries Top Dog Contest
Saturdays in June, 11 AM to 3 PM
June 2, 206 5th Ave., Brooklyn
June 16, 162 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn
June 30, 100 Smith St., Brooklyn
Does your dog have what it takes to be crowned Best in Borough? Enter this Brooklyn Industries contest and find out. Winners get their face on a t-shirt, among other cool prizes. All entrants will be photographed by Shaina Fishman.

Sir William's Dog Run Coffee Bark
Sunday, June 3, 8 AM to 10 AM
Sir William's Dog Run, Fort Tryon Park, 190th St. and Fort Washington Ave., Manhattan
The Fort Tryon Dog Owner's Group invites everyone to this gathering the first Sunday of each month at their beautiful run. Free coffee and donuts. If you'd like to help out with maintenance of the run, stick around after the event.

Hartsdale Pet Cemetery War Dog Memorial Celebration
Sunday, June 3, 1 PM
75 North Central Park Ave., Hartsdale, NY
This annual event honors dogs who have been of service to humanity, including military canines, search-and-rescue dogs, police and fire dogs, and assistance dogs. If you attend the ceremony, be sure to walk through this historic pet cemetery, the oldest in the nation, where you'll find the burial spots of the pets of luminaries including Diana Ross and Mariah Carey. Hartsdale, about 25 miles north of midtown, can be reached by car or Metro-North. Directions here.

North Shore Animal League Lewyt Humane Awards Luncheon
Wednesday, June 6, noon to 3 PM
The Garden City Hotel, 45 Seventh St., Garden City, NY
A fundraising lunch with a silent auction, hosted by Jodi Applegate of Good Day New York. Tickets cost $135 and can be purchased online. More information at 516-883-7900, ext. 635 or cristinar@nsalamerica.org.

Reading: The New Yorkers
Saturday, June 16, 1 PM
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd St., Manhattan
Cathleen Schine's latest novel The New Yorkers chronicles the lives of the residents of one Upper West Side block and the dogs they adore. She will read from her book at this event held in the museum's courtyard, where dogs are welcome. (It will move indoors in case of rain, and dogs will not be allowed.) The event is free with museum admission, $9, and Ms. Schine will donate all proceeds from books sold at the event to Animal Haven. Please call 212-534-1672, ext. 3395 for more information.

Take Your Dog to Work Day
Friday, June 22
This is the eighth year of this national event, created by Pet Sitters International to spread the word about what wonderful companions dogs make. For tips, forms, and ideas to help organize "Take Your Dog To Work Day" at your company, download PSI's 17-page "Business Action Pack" here.

Animal Haven Golf Classic
Monday, June 25, 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM
Montammy Golf Club, Route 9W and Montammy Drive, Alpine, NJ
This celebrity golf outing is a fundraiser for Animal Haven's new, innovative, people-friendly dog and cat adoption center in SoHo. The event features a championship course, 30 all-star players, lavish four-star food, awards, and entertainment. Animals will be available for adoption. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Tiffany Lacey at 917-459-2422 or TiffanyL@ah-nyc.org, or visit the Animal Haven web site.

The BARC Art Show
Tuesday, June 26, 8 PM
North 1st St. btwn. Wythe and Berry, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
An exhibit and sale of works by local artists to benefit the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition, better known as BARC. Tickets cost $25 and can be booked at 718-486-7489. If you would like to donate a piece for the show, please contact Julie Argent.

Reading: Dreaming in Libro: How a Good Dog Tamed a Bad Woman
Thursday, June 28, 7 PM
Bluestockings, 172 Allen St. btwn. Stanton and Rivington, Manhattan
Dogs and their people are invited to this reading by Louise Bernikow of her memoir about how a beloved Boxer she found as a stray changed her life.


If there's an event you'd like us to mention in the next NewsHound, please email us.

A Dog's Life Photo Contest. Your hound's mug could be on the label of these organic treats. Here's how to enter.

Bide-A-Wee Fitness with Fido. This free weekly walking group meets every Saturday at 9:30 AM at the entrance to Central Park at 67th St. and 5th Ave. Trainers and vets from Bide-a-Wee will come along to answer questions and offer advice. Everyone is welcome and no reservation is necessary.

Very Low-Cost Spay-Neuter Surgery. Animal Care and Control will spay or neuter your dog for $35 or, if you are a Medicaid recipient, for $20.

"Hey Mister, What Kind of Dog is That?" For great early summer reading (and watching), check out Baltimore Sun reporter John Woestendiek's seven-part multi-media series on his quest to trace his mutt's DNA.

Cable TV Goes to the Dogs. In addition to the shows we told you about last month (Divine Canine and It's Me or the Dog), Animal Planet will be airing its Dog Championships 2007 series several times in June.