What could possibly be bright about Inconvenience? Well, today I have two things….

Earlier this week we discovered that our home refrigerator was no longer working. A pretty decent sized inconvenience, right? Well, the bright side of the refrigerator not working is obviously getting a new frige:) but the real bright side has been being forced to go out to eat. While this has not been bright for our waistlines, it has been fun to not have to worry about cooking this week.

So last night, we had the pleasure of dining out with our friends Matt and Maria. We have been planning for some time to dine together at the Lost Dog Cafe in north Arlington. All day long I craved pizza and was so looking forward to a make your own personal dish. When we arrived at the Lost Dog, it was closed! Closed for renovations that is. And the funny thing about this is that the last time Brian and I were there for dinner we saw a sign that said they were planning to expand later this summer. Brian even made the comment that, “they should just close for a month and totally redo the inside.” Well, thats exactly what they did!

Thankfully we had a very good alternative to the Lost Dog Cafe three doors down at the Stray Cat (notice a trend here?) While Stray Cat doesn’t have near the selection of beverages or sandwiches and NO PIZZA (noo!) they do have excellent burgers and a few decent beers on tap, although they were totally out of what they refer to as “Catfish Head” (Dogfish Head) much to the dismay of many in the place that evening.

The Lost Dog and Stray Cat cafes are unique in that they both have an animal friendly mission. According to the website:

The Lost Dog Café has been serving up great pizza, hot sandwiches and beer from around the world in Arlington’s Westover neighborhood since 1985. Wellknown as a place to get great food at a great price, the café also serves up a hefty slice of compassion with each pizza. Café owners Ross Underwood and Pam McAlwee have been rescuing stray dogs and cats almost as long as they have been in business and the effort continues.

It began with a few “lost” dogs needing a place to stay until they could find new homes of their own. In 2001, thanks largely to the success of the Lost Dog Café, the pair established a non-profit foundation dedicated solely to the cause of helping homeless and abandoned dogs and cats find forever homes. Today the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF) places almost 2000 animals per year into permanent, loving homes—each one spayed or neutered prior to adoption. The foundation’s efforts continue to be supported by the Lost Dog Café and its sister restaurant (just a few doors down), the Stray Cat Café.

It’s the compassion that makes the Lost Dog Café more than just a great place to eat—here you can rest assured that you are helping to make a difference—one dog or cat at a time.

So the bright side of a dead fridge and our favorite neighborhood pizza joint being closed was the excellent company of our friends Matt and Maria and the chicken taco platter three doors down at the Stray Cat Cafe.

However, we are planning a grand reopening celebration at Lost Dog with Matt and Maria once the place reopens in September.

To learn more about the foundation’s efforts, to donate, or to volunteer, visit the Lost Dog and Cat rescue foundation website at www.lostdogrescue.org.