All dogs go to Riverview Theater
Categories: Civil Society
Photo by estudiante
It was "take your dog to the movie" night at Riverview Theater Tuesday for an early (and free!) screening of "Marley and Me". K-9 Connection, a local organization that helps dog owners and lovers meet in town, coordinated the event where owners could bring their pups along for the show. The movie, based on the book by journalist John Grogan follows a husband and wife who adopt Marley, the world's worst dog.
While the thought of bringing your favorite family member to the theater sounds great, you might think twice if they have behavior problems. After sitting through a movie with some trouble makers, we were just thankful we didn't bring our terrible two along for a night of embarrassment.
Photo courtesy of K-9 Connection
We left our two dogs at home, because frankly, they have no social skills with humans or fellow dogs. As dog owners, we appreciated the event and figured the theater could use some people not cuddling dogs in case all hell broke loose.
The Riverview's usual smell of fresh (real!) buttered popcorn still caught our senses upon walking in, but it wasn't strong enough to hide the overwhelming scent of the new wet guests dragging the fresh snow lodged in their paws and fur. It's all part of the experience, right?
We picked a spot smack in the middle of the stadium seating and found some well-behaved and terribly entertaining dogs to watch before the lights dimmed. Even dogs the size of school-aged children somehow made their way into their owner's lap. We laughed uncontrollably when a flat-faced dog had no interest in making friends with the excited dog a row ahead and snapped with a nasty underbite growl. Apparently some of us were only there to catch the flick too.
Perhaps it was just our luck when two adorable wiener dogs took seats directly behind us in a stadium of about 150 dogs and their owners. Their names were Buster and Hank, which we only know because their owner had to scold them throughout the whole movie due to their relentless yapping.
This was definitely a theater full of the most patient and understanding people in the Twin Cities. Take the typical popcorn-crunching, sneezing, coughing people and add overly-stimulated dogs surrounded by snacks and you have a couple crazy hours ahead of you. But it was different and fun and some great free entertainment for a snowy evening in Minneapolis.
Dog lovers beware: You'll need a box of tissues to make it through this movie. The movie premieres nationwide on Christmas.
Check out the Pioneer Press video about the event, which even stars Buster and Hank:
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