The Windy City has never been more welcoming to four-legged friends. Where to eat, stay and shop with Fido.
By Jeanette Hurt From the May 2007 Issue
Hit Maker In Valparaiso, Ind., they make bats for some of baseball’s biggest sluggers.
Green is Good How a group of friends is saving
southwest Michigan, one acre at a time.
Sky High For a full-throttle summer adventure, grab a kiteboard and chase the wind.
Valparaiso is for (Bird) Lovers On six lush acres, an elegant inn caters to birds and wildlife – and the vacationers who love them.
Lake Magazine covers the hottest information on the Lake Michigan area.
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During our recent stay at Hotel Monaco in Chicago, every time we passed the front desk, the staff lavished attention and treats on us. By “us,” I suppose I mean our dog, Olivia. Not that they weren’t welcoming to me and my husband. But they were positively mad about Olivia.
“Did she like the flavor of that last treat?” asked the registration clerk, as we returned from a jaunt in a nearby park. “Here’s another flavor for her to try. We just got it in, and we’re taste-testing it.”
Olivia received not one, but three pink-and-white striped, bacon-flavored dog cookies, and she also garnered hearty applause after she twirled in a circle on her hind legs. Dancing is the only stupid pet trick she knows, and she used it to her advantage – promptly winning still another biscuit, as a reward.
Even without all the tasty tidbits or the pet-centric “FurrrGot It, We Got It” honor bar at the hotel, spending a weekend in Chicago with one’s dog can be a real treat. Not only are leashed dogs allowed in all of the city’s spacious parks, plenty of restaurants, stores and even banks also welcome four-legged companions. “There are so many pet-friendly things to do here, and it’s really just exploded,” says Margaret Littman, author of The Dog Lover’s Companion to Chicago. “Basically, anything you’d want to do for yourself, you could do with your dog.”
Take museums. At the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, dogs are invited to the sculpture garden on pet-friendly, family days during the summer – and every fall, the museum hosts a Halloween pet parade. (Check mcachicago.org for details.) “It’s not just that the dogs are allowed into the museum,” Littman says, “but they make it extra fun by holding demonstrations and activities for you to enjoy with your dog.”
No extra innings are planned, but extra canine activities are included when the Chicago White Sox opens its doors to canine fans during the team’s annual “Dog Day Afternoon” at U.S. Cellular Field on May 11.
The bleacher section is opened to animals and their owners, pets are paraded on the field, and treats are handed out to all comers. Owners must call the ticket office (312-674-1000) and fill out a form for their pet.
Not every store along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile invites four-legged shoppers, but many do, especially if the pooch is portable. “The main thing, even when visiting pet-friendly boutiques, is to ask first,” Littman advises. One of the do-welcome-dogs spots is the Perfect Pear Gallery at 712 N. State St. This eclectic gallery is often hosted by Tina, a pug, who enjoys canine customers. (She even has her own e-mail address.) Nearby, the Bloomingdale’s Home + Furniture store in the old Medinah Temple invites leashed dogs of all sizes.
Dogs are also welcomed at Sam and Willy’s. Though small, this West Lakeview pet shop hosts a big attraction – an old-fashioned photo booth where pets and their owners can strike a pose (samandwillys.com).
Pets can also mug for Anne Leuck Feldhaus, a Chicago artist who specializes in pet portraiture, of the off-beat and fun, pop art kind (annesart.com). Usually, I catch up with Feldhaus and her art at one of the many summer art shows around the city, but off-season, I’ve enjoyed her work at the Sacred Art gallery in Roscoe Village. I’ve also visited with her at her home studio. “If I’m available, I’m happy to invite people over,” says Feldhaus.
Chicago’s many sidewalk cafes allow pooches some patio time. But perhaps none goes to quite the extreme that Brasserie Jo does. This elegant restaurant not only invites owners and dogs to feast French-style on its patio, but at least twice a summer, the restaurant holds a pet fashion show, rolling out a red carpet on Hubbard Street. The restaurant also brings in a pet psychic to do readings occasionally, and every dog who dines there is offered a complementary steak tartare.
Olivia enjoyed her first European-style experience. She carefully sniffed around the edges of her steak tartare, hesitant at first. But after a bit of pawing, she began nibbling and finished up almost all of it in one gulp. At which point, my husband removed the plate and requested a doggie bag, because she had already consumed half her weight in treats that day.
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