Dan's hometown is Chicago, and he has been working at Windy City for two years. He's got a cat named Brandy, and his favorite breed is the Shiba Inu. Congratulations, Dan! Our Dog of the Month for July was Ocala! She's a 10 year old lab/pit bull mix, and she has been coming to daycare at Windy City for several years! Some of her favorite things are her family, biscuits, belly rubs and puppies! She tries to act as "supervisor" for her play groups - always keeping a watchful eye on everybody else. (photo coming soon) For the month of August, our Employee of the Month was Mariel! 
Mariel is your happy blogmaster and a member of our Customer Service team! Her hometown is also Chicago, and she's been working at Windy City for nearly two years! She's got a dog named Pie 'oh' Pah, 6 cats (Nicky, Molly, Dice, Daphne, Ernest and Louis), and her favorite breed is the Chow Chow. Congratulations, Mariel! Last but definitely not least, our Dog of the Month for August was Jax! 
Jax is an 8 year old Border Collie mix, and he has also been coming to daycare at Windy City for a couple of years! Some of his favorite things are cuddling belly-up, being carried (it's not easy - he's not a small boy!), biscuits, and toys that "talk"! His vertical leap is intimidating, and he also knows how to open doors. Smart cookie! (photo soon)In other news, we had a couple of important events! The first was Dog's Night Out, at the Galleria Marchetti on August 9th. Dog's Night Out was a black-tie event to benefit the Lake Shore Animal Shelter. There were dogs and fancy clothes and, of course, food galore! Our very own center manager, Bruce, assistant manager, Nicolette, and trainer Stacey Hawk were in attendance!
A couple of weeks later, Windy City hosted our Agility for Dummies event, right here in the main training ring! Agility trainer Stacey Hawk of Hawk City K9 showed everybody the ropes, and everybody had a fantastic time! We apologize - we weren't able to get many photos that were clear enough to post, and even the ones we have are sort of blurry. Everybody was running fast! (mouse over photo for caption)
We also celebrated some important birthdays since our last post! Daycare dogs Fergus C. and Grayson N. spent their special days here at Best Friends Windy City! Grayson's birthday came complete with a festive doggy cake by Galloping Gourmutts (we've gotta say - that cake was awesome)! We put on some party hats, ate some goodies and everybody had a great time! (photos soon)
While we're on the subject of daycare dogs, something a little more serious: The Best Friends Windy City staff is all pulling for Chloe G., as she is undergoing chemotherapy. Our thoughts are with her and her family at this tough time. She's a trooper, though - we all hope to see her back at daycare very soon!
Now, we'd like to announce our September event: our Dog Day Festival, a free event in observance of the American Kennel Club's Responsible Dog Ownership Day! This year's Dog Day Festival will be held right here at Best Friends Windy City, 1628 N. Elston Ave., on Saturday, September 29th from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Bring your dog - there will be plenty of doggy games, practice agility runs, and canine contests! Consult with our trainers for behavioral advice, get some information on pet health from Animal Medical Center, enter our raffle, and view some of Lake Shore Animal Shelter's adoptable dogs! Last year's event was big fun, so don't miss out! Please, feel free to call 773-384-5959 for more information!
Also, we'd like to mention that our October daycare party will, of course, be a Halloween-themed party! This year, the 31st falls on a Wednesday, so dress up your pooch, bring him or her to daycare and he or she can participate in our costume contest! See you there!
To wrap things up, we hope that everybody is making the most of the last days of summer! Oh, and all of our retail items, except for food and Frontline, are 50% off until September 26th! That means treats, beds, crates, toys, rawhides, leashes, collars and lots more are all 50% OFF!!! We are preparing to do inventory - we're offering huge deals on great stuff so that we don't have to count so many things!
