Night of the Dog

Mylo and I went to work Saturday night volunteering at the first annual Brooklyn Bridge Pup Crawl, in an effort to raise money and awareness for the estimated 1 million pets losing their homes due to foreclosures this year. We had the pleasure of walking across the Bridge along side 400 amazing dogs and their loving owners!I hear that the night raised over $3,000 and counting! The money will be divided amoung shelters across the US. From our beloved Brooklyn based BARC , Get-A-Life Pet Rescue of Fort Lauderdale Florida and Ace of Hearts in Los Angeles.Joseph Hassan animal lover, PR pro and creator of The Pup Crawl mentioned that $20 is enough to feed one shelter pet for an entire month! His hope is that animals given up due to foreclosures will be able to spend a little time in shelters or foster homes, then be readopted by their original families when they're back on their feet.The event was so meaningful for me, as I am so blessed with the greatest shelter dog imaginable! Mylo and I had a great time! We even got to take home an awesome t-shirt for volunteering, an illuminated lead from LuLu Leash to light up the bridge, and yummy doggie treats!

Pup Crawl Registration from Michael Santos on Vimeo.

A Running Fool Makes a New Friend

Sunday morning I woke up dark and early (to the tune of 4:15am), ate my peanut butter toast, strapped on my Nikes and set out for the G train to begin my journey to College Point, Queens. Why in god's name would I do such a thing? Well, the Queens half marathon tied in with my commitment to run 9 New York Road Runners races by the end of the year and gain automatic entry to New York City ING Marathon 2010. I feel like this is a pretty good reason but my body definitely felt otherwise. Here is a self photograph that conveys my emotions, taken that morning. I know, gorgeous right?
The thing about running is that somedays the old legs are just not in the mood. Sometimes, you just don't feel like it. Sunday was this type of a day for me but, I had no choice. I kept my head down and powered through finishing in just under 2 hours, not bad. From the finish line I called a car and headed back to home sweet Brooklyn where I found out someone did not show up to the Willburg Cafe (where I work) and they would need me to come in early. Sweet! Immediately, I showered and ran down the street to have my apron on and a stack of dirty dishes in my hands by 10:30am. Running a waitress short, we hustled around until 4pm, at which time I ran home and then around the corner to meet a new pup, Gracie. After a test drive last night, Gracie and I went on our first official run today.
What an athlete! We did a loop (about 2.8 miles) from Meserole and Union down to McCarren Park and then came back on Lorimer. The weather was gorgeous, Gracie was in a chipper mood and although today was meant to be my running day off, I was grateful for the relief a short run brought to my sore body. Still a bit of a puppy, Miss Gracie is easily distracted by squirrels (who doesn't love a squirrel) but other then that a focused and enthusiastic runner. It was an excellent start to a big running week for me. I have a few dogs lined up and, on my own training schedule, a 17 mile run this Sunday. I can't wait. Happy running!

Guerrilla Marketing

We have officially launched Brooklyn Dog Runners with our inaugural marketing camping, a Brooklyn inspired marketing angle. I ran around the neighborhood with packing tape and flyers and attacked a few lampposts and community boards. Always the multi-tasker, I managed to turn a 5 mile training run into a work day as well. I set out from my house and planted the first flyer at Humboldt and Montrose.

















I thought that a smart move, after starting close to home, would be to hit up some local parks. From Montrose I swung a left on Bushwick Avenue and then turned right on Olive Street to stop by Cooper Park. There is a really nice dog run there so I hung a flier on the community board then went ahead and ran a loop around the park. The weather was glorious today, real adventure weather, which in my book includes light rain and strong winds. Not weather so extreme that it knocks you down or makes you soaking wet but just creates a sense of urgency and makes you run faster. Before I cut back to Bushwick Avenue, I saw a couple of these flyers up. It's for a Brooklyn PUP Crawl over the Brooklyn Bridge. It's free they just ask for a small donation that goes to the ASPCA. It looks like a fun date night for you and your dog! Check it out at www.thepupcrawl.com

From Cooper Park I went back to Bushwick Avenue via Olive Street and then made a right on Humboldt to head over to McCarren Park. Slipping under the BQE I made a left on Bayard Street and stopped to illuminate a lamp post on the wonders of Brooklyn Dog Runners. Here I am commemorating our first marketing campaign on the corner of Bayard and Lorimer Street.

At this point I ran out of packing tape and made a mental note to bring up our lack of supplies at the next board meeting. I still had some ground to cover for training so I proceeded to take Driggs Avenue under the Williamsburg Bridge and then made a left on Broadway, a left on Havemeyer, a right on Grand and kept on running until I got the Willburg Cafe where I snagged an iced coffee and talked with my friend Aurora for a while. It was a great day on the job to say the least. Thanks for catching up on the blog and make sure to become our fan on Facebook... and tell your friends and their friends. Happy running!

Where my dogs at?

No dogs today! Julie and I are still in the final stages of getting Brooklyn Dog Runners up and ...well, running, so to speak. Julie's working on the website and fliers, I've gotten us bonded and insured and I think we are days away from beginning to book appointments. In the meantime I'm still running, just without any pups today at least. November 22nd I'll be running the Philadelphia Marathon so I've got work to do. Sunday I completed an amazing long run crossing both the Williamsburg and the Brooklyn bridge, cruising around Fort Greene Park and finally getting a little turned around in Carroll Gardens. The weather was great and the 15 miles somehow seemed to fly by. Monday was my day of rest and now, today I am back on the streets for a four mile run. I did one of my favorite old stand-bys, across the Williamsburg bridge and back via Broadway.



From Montrose Avenue in Williamsburg, I head west towards Broadway and make a right. The sidewalks here can be bustling but for the most part they are wide and give ample room for dodging and darting around fellow pedestrians.


Continuing along Broadway, I pass the bus terminal on the right and then a little further up, Peter Luger's on the left.

At Bedford I turn right and begin the ascent of the bridge. This walkway over the bridge is on the south side and much steeper then the north side of the bridge. I usually keep my head down and try and pretend it's not hill at all when climbing hills. This technique works well for me but it's not the best idea when in a narrow, caged-in walkway. I make sure to keep my eyes up and pay attention for oncoming traffic.

Serendipitously, I saw a young guy running his dog, (some sort of a Rottweiler mix) across the bridge. Whenever I see a dog running I smile because they look like they are having so much fun. I've always felt that being a dog runner is one of the best jobs in the world because your clients are so happy to see you. Today's run was great and I'm looking forward to upcoming weeks when I'm no longer at it alone but have a few dog friends to join me.