Bobbi and the Strays All-You-Can-Eat Pasta Night!
Thursday, March 13, 7 PM to 10 PM
Carosello Restaurant, 162-54 Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach, Queens
Dinner out to benefit the Queens rescue group. Tickets are $25. To reserve call Sandy at 917-882-6949 or email bobbicares2@aol.com.

Pet Tech First Aid Care & CPR Workshop
Saturday, March 15, 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Bideawee, 410 E. 38th St., Manhattan
Learn how to help your dog in case of an emergency. Cost is $85. For more information or to register, contact Bideawee at 212-532-4986 or manhattanlearning@bideawee.org.

Wagwear Warehouse Sale
Saturday, March 15 through Monday, March 31; M-Sat 11 AM to 7 PM, Sun noon to 6 PM
Wagwear flagship store, 48 E. 11th St., Manhattan
Local hound product design company Wagwear is know for bright colors and bold, clean designs. They make leashes and collars, clothing, carriers, beds, and other products. Many will be up to 70% off during this sale. For more info call 212-673-7210.

Barking Mad Bingo
Friday, March 28, doors open 6 PM, show starts 7 PM
Animal Haven Soho, 251 Centre St., Manhattan
A fund raiser for the Animal Haven shelter, with performances by Sybil Bruncheon, Fabio Gorgissimo, and Gefil Tefish. Tickets are $20. Please leave your dog at home!

Animal Massage Workshop
Saturday, March 29, 11 AM to 12:30 PM
Bideawee, 410 E. 38th St., Manhattan
Ear scratching and belly rubbing are all well and good, but you'll learn how to take it to the next level at this seminar. Your hound will thank you. Registration is $65. For more information call Bideawee at 212-532-4986 or email manhattanlearning@bideawee.org.

Bingo Italiano
Saturday, March 29, 6:30 PM to 10 PM
North Presbyterian Church of Flushing, 25-33 154th St., Flushing, Queens
A buffet and bingo to benefit the Loving Touch rescue group. Admission is $20 per adult and $10 per child and $5 per bingo card. Please RSVP to Doreen at 718-224-8629 or kittygurl22@hotmail.com.

Bowling for Greyhounds
Saturday, March 29, 7 PM
Babylon Bowling Alley, 430 Sunrise Hwy., Babylon, NY
Help support Long Island 's Grateful Greyhounds rescue group while knocking down some pins. The $25 ticket price includes dinner, shoe rental, and two games. RSVP by sending a check to Grateful Greyhounds, 17 Seabrook, Stony Brook, NY 11790, or email gratefulgreys@aol.com.

Pet loss support group
Thursday, March 30, 7 PM to 8 PM (and the third Thursday and first Friday of each month)
Bideawee, 410 E. 38th St., Manhattan
A gathering for those who are mourning a pet. Social workers who specialize in pet bereavement will be in attendance. The meetings are free and children are welcome. More information at the Bideawee website.

Coffee Bark
Saturday, April 5, 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.

St. Nick's Dog Park Coffee Bark
Saturday, April 5, 9 AM to 11 PM
Mid-park between the 135th St. staircase and 136th St., Manhattan
Coffee and other refreshments are served at this gathering which happens on the first Saturday of every month in St. Nicholas Park. For more information or if you'd like to volunteer, write dogpark@stnicholaspark.org.

Press Conference for the Pets in Housing Bill
Saturday, April 5, noon
Steps of City Hall, Manhattan
The League of Humane Voters of NYC is hoping for a large turnout at this event to publicize Intro 13, a bill that would clarify the existing law so that once a landlord allows a tenant to have a pet, that tenant will be allowed to get another pet when the first one dies.

Nutrition and Exercise Workshop
Wednesday, April 5, 11 AM to 2:30 PM
Bideawee, 410 E. 38th St., Manhattan
Just two-and-a-half months to bikini weather! Get advice on keeping your dog healthy and fit from Stacy Alldredge of Who's Walking Who? More information at the Bideawee website.

Sir William's Dog Run Coffee Bark
Sunday, April 6, 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.

Doga Classes
Wednesday, April 9, 7 PM to 7:45 PM (and the second Wednesday of each month)
Bideawee, 410 E. 38th St., Manhattan
This is a partner yoga class for you and your hound. (We'll skip the downward facing dog jokes.) Cost is $18 per class, package deals are available. More information and how to register here.

ASPCA Day Festival
Thursday, April 10, 4 PM to 8 PM
Union Square Park, Manhattan
A free fair in the park to celebrate the ASPCA. Among other attractions, there will be a pet photo booth, animal behaviorist, stars of Animal Precinct and, of course, dogs and cats for adoption.

Dog Friendly Spring Soiree Mix and Mingle
Friday, April 11, 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Upstairs Lounge at Proof, 239 Third Ave. btwn. 19th & 20th Sts., Manhattan
One hundred percent of the $20 cover charge for this cocktail party goes to support Bideawee. You will be served a complementary Wagging Dog (Rum and Coke) or Meow-tini (Apple Martini). Dogs drink free. Please purchase tickets in advance at the Bideawee web site.

Walkin' New York Dog Friendly Tour of Central Park
Saturday, April 12, 11:30 AM (Rain date: Sunday, April 13th, 11:30 AM)
59th St. and 5th Ave., in front of the statue of General Sherman, Manhattan
Bob Gelber of Walkin' NY will guide you and your hound through the byways of Central Park, with a history lesson along the way. Tickets are $20, with $4 of each ticket going to Bideawee Bideawee. Please RSVP to Bob@WalkinNY.com or 212-349-7916.

City Critters: Dinner & Theater Benefit
Friday, April 11, dinner 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM; performance 8 PM
Mustang Harry's, 352 Seventh Ave. and FIT Haft Auditorium, 227 W. 27th St., Manhattan
Granted, they mostly rescue cats, but we still think City Critters is a worthy group. This event will feature dinner and a performance of The Music Man by the Village Light Opera Group. Cost is $100 per person. Please RSVP to the City Critters site, or call 212-592-9123.

Lenny the Pug's 3rd Annual Birthday Benefit
Sunday, April 13, 2 PM to 5 PM
Animal Haven, 251 Centre St., Manhattan
A raffle, silent auction, exhibitor tables, and treats for people and dogs are some of the highlights of this birthday bash to benefit the Animal Haven shelter. Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the door, no charge for dogs.

Macy's Barkfast
Sunday, April 20, 9 AM to 10:30 AM
Macy's Herald Square, Manhattan
A festive breakfast tribute to pets to benefit the Animal Haven shelter. Tickets ($50 for adults and $20 for kids, with 100% going to Animal Haven) can be bought online. Dogs (on leash) welcome!



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

Partisan dog biscuits. We're a little unclear on whether you should proudly order the treats that symbolize your party, or get those of the opposing party and feed them to your hound with vindictive glee. Either way, these goodies (manufactured, appropriately enough, by the Capitol Dog Bakery, with a portion of proceeds going to the Washington Humane Society) seem particularly apropos for primary season.

Paws for Poetry Contest. In honor of poetry month, The Humane Society of New York and Meet me at the Corner.org are sponsoring a poetry contest for kids ages 7 to 12. The subject? A pet or animal they love. Details and how to enter here.

Pets now welcome at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town. With pet friendly apartments few and far between in NYC, it's good news that this East Village complex of 110 buildings, 11,250 apartments, and over 25,000 residents will now allow cats and dogs.

DIY guide to greening your hound. The brand new book Eco Dog: Healthy Living for Your Pet by Corbett Marshall and Jim Deskevich provides step-by-step directions on making things -- from meatloaf to shampoo to natural odor absorbers to a recycled denim pet bed -- to help reduce your hound's carbon paw print.

Free Spay-Neuter Surgery + Vaccinations. If you are on public assistance and live in the five boroughs, the ASPCA will spay or neuter and vaccinate your pet for free. Details here.

What's On. Saturday evenings on Animal Planet are particularly hound-focused this month. The new reality show Groomer Has It premieres on Saturday April 12 at 9 PM. Twelve groomers will compete for a $50,000 prize and a mobile grooming salon. At 10, Showdogs Moms and Dads follows five families who sacrifice everything to make their dogs champions. On Mondays, Petfinder, in which hosts Jarod Miller and Dina Zaphiris help match families with shelter animals, continues. On Saturday April 5 at 8, the station airs the Animal Planet Dog Championships from Portland, OR. On Saturday the 12th from 8 to 9 PM, It's Me or the Fat Dog Update Special checks in with trainer Victoria Stilwell and the three generously-proportioned dogs she created a new regimen for seven months ago.