The Silver Spring Penguin

Photo: The smoothies were a big hit with these dogs. Credit: L. Lombardi/SSP.

Dog owners and their canine companions chugged a few for a good cause Sunday at a “yappy hour” celebration in Downtown Silver Spring.

Most dogs in attendance spent the sunny afternoon putting away french fries outside McGinty’s Public House on Ellsworth Drive. Others slurped frosty smoothies from the Living Ruff pet-supply shop. Pups also sampled nonalcoholic “beer” — beef broth packaged in beer-like bottles — while their people sipped the real deal.

The $720 raised through the event’s $10 cover charge went to benefit Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit group that trains service dogs. These days, the organization’s pooches spend most of their time with injured soldiers recovering at facilities like the nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a representative said.

The service dogs can be trained to help disabled people in many ways by picking up objects, opening doors, or alerting deaf people to sounds. Assistance dogs are also trained to handle noisy, crowded situations, as demonstrated by a few dogs in blue and yellow vests snoozing beneath the tables of McGinty’s patio.

A similar event takes place Jun 22 at the Mayorga Coffee Factory in South Silver Spring. That event benefits the Montgomery County Humane Society.

Click on the thumbnails to view larger images.

Photo credit: Linda Lombardi for The Penguin.

Updated Jun 15, 2009, at 1:25 p.m.