Dogs get paradise in city park

New Orleans dogs can sample the good life at parks, spas, restaurants, bars and hotels

Published: Friday, August 19, 2011, 5:00 AM

 By Alison Fensterstock, The Times-Picayune 

Pepperoni, my excellent 11-year-old mixed-breed, has led an accomplished and illustrious canine life.

Ted Jackson / The Times-PicayunePepperoni, an 11-year-old mixed breed, is clearly enjoying his recent trip to New Orleans City Bark dog park.

At 3, he awakened my husband, Lefty, to alert him to a house fire.

A year later, Pepperoni accompanied the local band Baby Rosebud in the studio for the recording of a CD.

During the seven years that Lefty booked and managed the Circle Bar, Pepperoni was petted by Guitar Lightnin' Lee, bounce star Big Freedia and Lady Bo, Bo Diddley's original guitarist. Antoinette K-Doe was frequently his dog-sitter.

Exciting times for a good dog, to be sure. But the life of a musician and promoter is unpredictable, and Pepperoni's first 7 years were a bit rough-and-tumble. So when Pepperoni officially became my stepdog in 2007, I decided our lifestyle together could use a little refining.

Happily, New Orleans is full of elegant options for the discerning dog, from playing to shopping to dining to luxury hotel lodging. Here's how I pampered my pooch, and some ideas for how you might pamper yours.

City Bark

For romping, the members-only New Orleans City Bark (membership is $35 per year) takes dog recreation to a whole new level.

City Bark board president Jackie Shreves, who hosted Pepperoni for a run around the grounds on a recent morning, said that board members researched dozens of dog parks around the country and consulted with several veterinarians before choosing the park's amenities and rules.

The park is a swath of green encircled by a walking path, with several water fountains, a dog-wash station, an obstacle course and a separate area for smaller and disabled dogs. As of 2011, the park has 2,800 members from 12 parishes and 14 states. A guest pass to the park can be purchased for $10 by dogs who are staying at, say, the Ritz-Carlton (more on that later).

The "101 Donations" benefit on Saturday (details at the bottom of this story) will raise funds for lighting and an irrigation system (members heretofore have been bringing hoses from home to keep the park green). Shreves said she hopes to have enough money left over to start a small endowment for City Bark, which is not funded by City Park.

"By 5:30 p.m. in the winter, it's pitch-black," said Shreves, who owns a rescue cocker spaniel and has a silver, paw-shaped charm dangling from her tote bag. "So we need that (lighting) for people coming after work."

Shopping and a manicure

After a good run around City Bark, Pepperoni enjoys a little shopping. As an early adopter, he has already purchased a squeaky toy from Belladoggie, the new "resort spa for dogs" on Washington Avenue, the latest shop in the Belladonna family.

Belladoggie hosts several events this weekend for its grand opening festivities, including a party tonight, a second line and brunch hosted by Irvin Mayfield on Saturday, and a concert at Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse in the Royal Sonesta Monday. The brunch and concert will benefit Dag's House, a fitness and boarding facility for disabled dogs.

Pepperoni also digs the Canine Connection (4920 Tchoupitoulas St.) for its ergonomic private dog-washing station and Fetch Mid-City (3536 Toulouse St.), which offers dog spa treatments that include extended brushing and moisturizing paw rubs.

And although Pepperoni hasn't been yet, if we ever want to take a shopping trip across the lake, Zorro's Cool Stuff for Pets and People (201 Carroll St., Mandeville) offers the one item no truly pampered pooch should be without: a tutu.

Yappy Hour

Many downtown dogs are regulars at Johnny White's Sports Bar (720 Bourbon St.), which publishes a yearly calendar featuring popular dogs of the French Quarter. The Bridge Lounge (1201 Magazine St.), which is decorated with artsy dog photography, offers water bowls on the floor and dog treats behind the bar. Fetch also hosts monthly Yappy Hours, with treats for dogs and wine for humans. (Yappy Hour dates and times are listed on fetchmidcity.com.)

North shore dogs can stop by Ruby's Roadhouse (840 Lamarque St., Mandeville) for its occasional Yappy Hours. A number of Old Mandeville establishments -- including The Barley Oak (2101 Lakeshore Dr.), The Beach House (124 Girod St.) andMaxein's Coffee House (115 Girod St.) -- are dog-friendly.

Fine canine dining

Dogs could bar-hop all night in New Orleans, but a moderate animal knows when it's time to get a snack. In fact, for Pepperoni, that time is all the time.

Lots of local restaurants have outdoor seating that's pup-friendly, including the Parkway Bakery (538 Hagan St.), Café Amelie (912 Royal St.), and El Gato Negro (81 French Market Place) -- which, ironically, is named for a cat but does welcome dogs at outdoor tables. And Café Freret (7329 Freret St.) serves home-baked, organic treats.

Many of the best dogs from and visiting New Orleans have visited Bayona's (430 Dauphine St.) lush, dog-friendly patio area; in fact, after playing the Voodoo Experience in 2003, Iggy Pop dined there with his Chihuahua.

For a comprehensive list of dog-friendly restaurants in the New Orleans area, check out the new website dogleveedish.com.

Luxury lodging unleashed

After a full day of running, shopping, clubbing and fine dining, even the hardiest pooch may be too pooped to walk home. Fortunately, many hotel chains are now pet-friendly, including Loews, Starwood properties including the W and Westin, and some La Quintas and Holiday Inns.

The Ritz-Carlton, though, has walked the dog the extra mile: Puppy guests at the New Orleans hotel, for a $150 deposit, can snack on dog treats from room service out of an elegant blue bowl and sleep on a plush doggie bed emblazoned with the Ritz crest.

Many rockers turn to more elegant pursuits upon reaching a certain age. Metallica's Lars Ulrich is a collector of contemporary art, for example, and Motley Crue's Vince Neil owns a vineyard. A night at the Ritz would be a perfect ending to a day of pampering Pepperoni, a rock 'n' roll dog with elevated tastes.

CITY BARK'S 101 DONATIONS

What: Bobby Cure and the Summertime Blues will play at this gala fundraiser for New Orleans City Bark. Silent auction items include antiques, art, jewelry, dining and vacation packages and a topiary shaped like a Labrador.

When: Saturday, 7-11 p.m.

Where: City Park's Pavilion of the Two Sisters

Cost: Individual tickets are $101. Tables are also available.

Info: nolacitybark.org

DAG'S HOUSE BENEFIT

What: A second line, brunch and concert benefiting the facility for disabled dogs. Irvin Mayfield will headline the concert and, along with grand marshal Faith the Dog, will lead the second line.

When: Second line and brunch Saturday 9:45 a.m.; concert Monday, 8 p.m.

Where: Belladoggie, 815 Washington Ave. Second line starts at Belladonna, 2900 Magazine St.; concert at Irvin Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse in the Royal Sonesta, 300 Bourbon St.

Cost: Donations accepted at Saturday's brunch; tickets to Monday's concert are $22 general admission, with a limited number of VIP packages available. Call 504.309.9510 for details.

Alison Fensterstock can be reached at fensterstock@gmail.com. Friend Pepperoni at facebook.com/pepperonidog.

© 2011 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.

Volunteers replenish New Orleans' heirloom roses

Plant sale Saturday at City Park features roses

 By Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune 

"I don't know a thing about growing roses. I propagate them," said Timmie Reinecke, as she patted sand around spindly roots dangling below a rose cutting.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneVolunteers Cheryl Weinberg, left, Timmie Reinecke and Linda Hattier pot plants of roses while working at the Pelican Greenhouse in City Park.

Despite the oppressive heat and humidity, a bandanna tied around her forehead, Reinecke briskly made 4- to 6-inch cuttings off stems of mother plants.

"I take tiny little sticks and make roses," said the retired librarian, who has been a volunteer in New Orleans City Park's gardens for the past 16 years.

The "rose lady," as Reinecke is known, is part of a stalwart band of volunteers who meet twice a week at the Pelican Greenhouse and Wetland Plant Center, near Interstate 610 and the railroad track, where they pot, repot and label Old Garden roses for sale to the public on one Saturday of the month. The next sale is this weekend.

Old Garden roses are not modern hybrids, but primarily 19th century heirloom roses. The Pelican Greenhouse has 130 varieties, some dating as far back as 1810.

"They have proved to be reliable and carefree. We don't have to spray them," Reinecke said.

Summer heat is just a state of mind to this close-knit group of volunteers, who have formed deep bonds of friendship through horticulture. Most are retired or work only part-time. Many do hospital shift work as nurses, physical therapists, doctors and medical technicians and enjoy digging in the soil in their free time.

Three who became friends years ago at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing nurture their relationship while propagating Old Garden roses.

After potting the cuttings, Reinecke puts them inside the greenhouse for twice-daily misting. Within three to four weeks, most will root and be moved into larger pots in a process called "bumping up."

Judi Dorfi trained in 2006 with the LSU AgCenter's Louisiana Master Gardener Program and was required to do community service work in the Botanical Garden. She never quit.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneVolunteer Linda Hattier pots a rose.

Fontaine Wells read a story in The Times-Picayune in 1990 about the park's need for volunteers. Her youngest child was in kindergarten, so she had spare time.

"I think we need to take care of something," said Linda Hattier, a retired nurse who is now in her 11th year of volunteering.

About 25 people volunteer in City Park's gardens on a regular basis, as well as walk-ins and one-timers, said Kathy McNamara, horticultural director of the Botanical Garden.

"People who sweat and get dirty are my kind of people. And we have so much fun," said Lynne Pourciau, another retired nurse. After toiling together all morning, the group breaks for lunch.

Traditionally, roses were collected from cuttings, given by one family member or friend to another. In the South, the best-adapted roses begin as cuttings that grow on their own roots, not from grafting, according to William Welch, a horticulture professor at Texas A&M and author of "Antique Roses for the South." Cutting and rooting is the procedure that Reinecke uses at City Park.

Flooding after Hurricane Katrina all but obliterated New Orleans' Old Garden rose population. One variety survived the storm and drought that followed, however. A climbing, pink, thorn-free rose continued to bloom, even submerged in floodwater. That unidentified rose was later named for Peggy Martin, who was then vice president of the New Orleans Old Garden Rose Society. All but two types among Martin's 400 rose plants in her Plaquemines Parish garden perished beneath 20 feet of saltwater.

In 2003, Welch had taken cuttings from Martin's garden back to Texas, where the unidentified rose flourished. After the hurricane, he organized six nurseries to donate a percentage of profits from sales of the Peggy Martin rose toward restoration of historical rose gardens in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.

"This rose is a beautiful symbol of survival on the Gulf Coast," Welch said.

City Park plant sales took a hiatus until the stock could be replenished. Rose sales resumed on Valentine's Day 2009, McNamara said. Thanks to donations from rose society members and nurseries, the Pelican Greenhouse has more Old Garden roses than before, with fanciful names like Lady Banks, Louis Philippe, Mrs. B.R. Cant and Old Blush, as well as newer varieties.

Potted roses are among more than 100 kinds of plants and flowers to be offered at the public sale. Roses and gingers are $10; most other plants are $5.

"We appeal to plant fanatics," McNamara said.

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The next plant sale is Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Pelican Greenhouse, off Henry Thomas (Golf) Drive just south of the I-610 underpass. Checks or cash accepted, no credit cards. Arrive early for best selection. For information, call 504.483.9464.

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Mary Rickard is a contributor to The Times-Picayune.

© 2011 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.