John Heller, Post-Gazette The night is young: Patrons having fun early in the evening at The Fur Ball. Click photo for larger image.

The dog days of summer made way for one very cool night Saturday when "The Fur Ball: Doggie Style" howled its way into existence. This inaugural event to benefit Animal Friends did everything right and exhibited great potential to grow into a fine fete, especially with such determined chairs holding the leash. From cocktails generously served in pilsner glasses by bartenders like Penguin Phil Bourque to a couture doggie fashion show, the evening was filled with small surprises.

Eighteen months of effort went into the planning, and it showed in the details carefully thought out by the combined committee/chairs of five animal lovers. Michelle Frangos, Todd Allen, Philip Ferland, Dawn Davies and Thommy Conroy shot for the hip, starting with a novel venue -- The Spring Way Building in the Strip, owned and donated by Francois Bitz.

The entrance is in an alley, sort of speakeasy-ish, and valet parkers took the cars who knows where. Inside, Conroy, who is a set designer and window dresser, created a dreamscape with white lanterns, clear balloons and an illuminated bar stocked with Absolute. Rob Long composed the lighting so that the space glowed, and Ben Opie and Opek performed stylish jazz.

John Heller, Post-Gazette Rachel Farley. Click photo for larger image.

For the red carpet dog walk, Animal Friends brought along some adoptable dogs, and Leigh Ann Leshock outfitted them in fancy dog duds from her store, WAG Barkery. A silent auction downstairs made way for gaming tables upstairs, and all the while waiters circulated with trays and trays of hors d'oeuvres by the Ugly Duckling (and later, fab cookies the size of flying saucers from Crazy Mocha Coffee Co.).

Fresh fruits, sushi from Wholey and foods from other vendors made sure that no one went hungry while DJ Edgar Um kept the music coming. A terrific video by John Allen Gibel that was projected on the wall gave new meaning to the definition of background visuals.

So Gov. Rendell was a no-show, though he's a huge Animal Friends supporter. The no-kill shelter is in the midst of a $6 million capital campaign to build a new pet resource in the North Hills, and its vision is shared by many locally. When Frangos was approached to sit on the board, she offered instead to stage a benefit styled after the successful Gods and Monsters bash she and Ferland created several years ago, and thus got The Fur Ball rolling.

Among those helping the organization to reach its goal were EB Pepper and her gorgeous 19-year old daughter, Chelsea, Funky Puppy's Danielle Gollick, Jacob Bacharach, Lauren Tillman, Cathy Lewis, Rachel Farley (wearing a killer garnet necklace designed by her escort, jeweler Justin Giunta), Tim McVay and Mary McVay, Stephanie Cohen, Sharon Panaia (flaunting a handful of sparklers from her jewelry company, Better World), Meeghan Conroy, Tamara Whiting, Cassandra Jones, Amy Walker, Mark Hughes, Corporate Air's Mark Schreiner, Toni Chiappini, Dr. Brenda Frye, Jillian Salamon and more, with Heinz and 84 Lumber providing major sponsorship.