Liquid Arts and Winery Estate hosted the first “Puppy Paw-ty” event on Sept. 29. The winery offered a dog-friendly charcuterie board and a special doggie beer for the pups to enjoy. In this free-to-attend event, dog-friendly treats were provided, along with flatbread pizzas and a drink menu for the owners. 

Theresea Ketterer, owner of Theresea’s Sweets & Treats, said the event was more than just an opportunity for owners and their dogs to bathe in the sunshine.

“There are some adoptables here, which is great for the community,” Ketterer said. “Just trying to get adoptables out to meet people, and give them their forever homes.”

The patio of Liquid Arts and Winery Estate was filled with participants and their pets meeting other dog-lovers and appreciating their beloved animals, celebrating the canines of Manhattan. 

“This has been a nice communal event for people to enjoy the weather and the beautiful scenery, and have our dogs out here with us,” Ketterer said.

The Puppy Paw-ty had multiple puppy-themed booths, including a puppy portrait run by Mackenzie Koontze, with accessories like collars and bandanas and many toys for pups.

“This is my first event ever, and I feel very prepared and enjoy meeting all the dogs,” Koontze said. “I will be designing their portraits for their owners.” 

For the digital portrait, participants upload a picture of their pet for Koontze, who digitally recreates their figure and face before emailing the results back to the owners,

“I do custom pet portraits, I do pre-authored designs and then I have the participant fill out a form and enter their animal’s photo,” Koontze said. “I also do complete customized work, but it is all digital art,” Koontze said.

Nick Coleman, who attended the event, said it made for a beautiful afternoon.

“My lovely wife saw [this event] on Facebook, and we thought it would be a good outing after church to go hang out with our dog, observe the beautiful sights outside and socialize our puppy to the environment and the people,” Coleman said.