Inside Thursday’s Paws for the Cause gala: Toronto scenesters and doggies in designer duds

Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani
Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

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Walking through the oversized doghouse gate in Toronto’s Distillery District, it was clear that the Paws for the Cause gala and fashion show had marked its territory. The second annual doggies-on-the-catwalk event had the city’s cutest pooches sporting Canadian-made coats from Babies & Beasts while their celebrity dog walkers strutted their stuff in darling duds by Philip Sparks. Plaid-on-plaid suits, faux fur–collared jackets and ladylike dresses ensured that models like eTalk’s Tanya Kim and MTV’s Aliya-Jasmine Sovani looked (almost) as cute as their leashed companions.

Guests included a smattering of Toronto’s hottest scenesters and media mavens. Spotted in the front row were Sarah Nicole Prickett, Toronto Life’s Fraser Abe, and the Globe and Mail’s Tiyana Grulovic while the blog scene was well-repped by She Does the City’s Jen McNeely, Backseat Stylers’ Sharon Ng Hayes, and Textstyles’ Stefania Yarhi, who manned a Photostar photoshoot booth at the event. Dog-loving partygoers were treated to chic ’dos courtesy of argan oil–based hair-care line Moroccanoil. Meanwhile, Dave Monks of Tokyo Police Club provided musical stylings that had guests getting down under the cool blue lights. Keeping in the theme of the evening, canapés and sweets were presented in dog dishes while servers offered trays of mini hotdogs. The only thing missing was an impromptu game of fetch.

Proceeds from the ticket sales raised money for the Ontario Veterinary College’s Pet Trust Fund with a portion of funds being used to establish the Paws for the Cause scholarship providing financial assistance to a veterinary student at the University of Guelph.

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