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Pet Loss Grief Support Group
While the death of a beloved pet is both agonizing and expected, there are very few acceptable arenas to process the inevitable grief. That’s why it’s so meaningful that MindTree Holistic Counseling & Wellness Center takes time off from counseling couples to hold monthly virtual support groups (hosted by social worker Kathy Link) for people who have lost a pet, addressing topics like coping tips and defining the difference between grief and trauma. Mindtreeholisticcounseling.com. Next meeting 10 am Saturday, March 16. Free.
Dogs & Tales
Reading aloud can be a rousing, spiritually enriching experience. But you know what’s even better? Reading aloud to an interested pooch. Each month, the Tigard Public Library offers 20-minute reading sessions where kids up through fifth grade can practice reading to therapy dogs. All March events are already booked, but registration for April starts March 27. And after that, a humble request for the library: Please start hosting events for grown-up kids (not thinking of anyone in particular) who have always dreamed of reading Walt Morey’s Kävik the Wolf Dog to a real-life Alaskan malamute. Tigard Public Library, 13500 SW Hall Blvd., 503-684-6537, tigard.libcal.com. Next reading session 6 pm Wednesday, April 3. Free.
Kitten Snuggle
Portland’s inability to keep a cat cafe going is one of the city’s defining characteristics, but Mud Bay Garden Home is offering the next best thing: snuggling with kittens…for a modest fee. A $5 donation earns you five minutes of snuggling, which helps fund local animal shelter Northwest Animal Companions. And if you bond with your kitten, adoption applications will be conveniently nearby. Mud Bay Garden Home, 7221 SW Garden Home Road, 503-206-0260, nwac-oregon.org. 1–4 pm Saturday, April 20. $5 per snuggle.
Portland Catstravaganza
Once again, things are going to get hairy at the Portland Expo Center. Just months after his last visit to the Rose City, Steven Meserve, the globetrotting cat judge and founder of Loving Cats Worldwide, returns to award prizes in categories like Best Kitten, Best Cat, Best Alter and Best Household Pet Kitten. Many eager humans—including this feline-loving journalist—will cough up a furball amid the excitement, while the cats will glumly wonder what they ever did to deserve being worshipped and adored. Portland Expo Center, 2060 Marine Drive W, 503-736-5200, expocenter.org. 10 am–4 pm Saturday–Sunday, March 23–24. $17-$20.
Pet Photography Portfolio Day at Whipple Creek Regional Park
Dreaming of a career capturing wee beasties at their most photogenic? Fuzzy Butt Pet Photography, the brainchild of dog lover Jess Kristen, is here to help. During Pet Photography Portfolio Day, amateur and professional photographers alike are welcome to practice their craft on willing canines, with “models” being rotated among the participants. Beginners are welcome and wandering is encouraged. Who knows? Test your mettle and you might wind up becoming the next William Wegman, the famed photographer of costumed Weimaraners. Whipple Creek Regional Park, Ridgefield, Wash., fuzzybuttpetphotos.com. 9–11 am Saturday, June 9. $125.