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Shopping mall now welcomes dogs on leashes
Story and photos by Karen Pearlman, for East County Magazine
Photo: Avalanche was one of the dogs at the party.
March 27, 2022 (El Cajon) -- Hundreds of four-legged visitors mingled nose to nose and nose-to-tail for three pawsome hours on Saturday at Parkway Plaza, as the indoor mall in El Cajon literally went to the dogs.
The shopping center, which opened with anchor store Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1969 and added more stores to the indoor mall in 1972, held the “Parkway Paws Party” to officially roll out the welcome mat for dogs.
For the first time, hundreds of people with pets freely roamed the corridors of the shopping center – and they were followed closely by several janitorial staff members making sure to clean up any messes left behind. There were signs that gave directions to pet relief spot areas in the mall, but some accidents, of course, did happen.
Parkway Plaza has long been OK with dogs on site unofficially, said Petra Rich, the marketing and business development manager for the mall, but Saturday’s event marked “the official launch of our center going dog friendly,” she said.
“Parkway Plaza has always been sort of unofficially dog friendly, we just didn't have a formal policy set in place, and we really just saw the need in our community,” Rich said. “Being that we're in El Cajon, it gets really hot in the summertime and dogs don't always want to hang out outside. So, we wanted to take the initiative this year and give dogs a place to come and hang out when it's too hot for them to be outside.”
Rich said that while the idea for the three-hour “pawty” was to engage local dog-centered community organizations and invite them out to connect with the community, it was focused on “all of us being able to bring our dogs out here and to have fun!”
She said the majority of the tenants of the 130-store mall were interested in having dogs at the mall, with the exception, understandably, of those in the food court and other restaurants in the vicinity.
Party central was kept mostly to a cross-section of the mall near massage chairs, sitting areas and planters with brightly colored flowers.
Some employees from stores in the mall ventured out every few minutes during the three-hour event to eye the goings-on, others pulled up a chair at their store’s entrance and watched the constant pup parade.
Vendors, volunteers and visitors seemed to have a doggone good time.
Adoptable dogs and information on fostering opportunities were provided at the event from Rescuing Cujo and California Labradors, Retrievers and More. The rescue groups were set up next to tables offering dog treats, bags of kibble and squeaky toys from El Cajon mom-and-pop store Healthy Pet Pantry and Kahoots Feed and Pet Store, which is headquartered in Ramona.
While dogs tried to scramble over to the treats, humans used their power as leash holders to herd their companions to other spots.
“We thought it would be a great way to spend a Saturday, because even though it’s our Saturday, it’s our pets’ Saturday, too,” said El Cajon resident Tanya Gentry.
Gentry, a distributor of specialty dog shampoo, attended the event with her 14-year-old dog, Dolce, along with her human friend Chalise Johnson and Johnson’s 2-year-old dog, Prince.
“We figured it would be great for them to come out and enjoy some festivities and meet some other pets, get some treats and all that good stuff,” Gentry said. “I was really elated to know that Parkway is now dog friendly and that they were doing this event for the furbabies.”
One line at the party never seemed to end – where people and their pets sat as former Disneyland artist Jennifer West sketched spot-on dog caricatures, from the smallest Chihuahuas to hefty English bulldogs.
Another popular spot was a photo area where people and their pets could sit with an ivy background and pose for photographs, which were printed and available on-site.
Many dogs seemed a little wary of getting the bottoms of their paws inked by volunteers and then stepping on a card on the ground to make take-home pawprints, but snacks offered to the dogs helped smooth the process.
Goodies including handkerchiefs and flashing dog tags were on a table from The Dog Society, a facility in Rolando offering grooming and boarding for dogs along with food and beer for humans. The company also had water bowls set out on the ground for dogs. There was also face painting area set up for kids, big and small, but not for dogs.
Music and chatter from DJs out of speakers belonging to local radio station Channel 93.3 blared as Randall Blaum, “Customer Love Manager” for the El Cajon Subaru dealership, the title sponsor of the event, offered pets and scratches to dogs and compliments about the dogs to their humans.
Kelly Butler and her husband, Jeremy Stillwagon, and their dogs, 11-week-old Loki and 2½-year-old John Paul Jones, came down to El Cajon from their Tierrasanta home to attend the event, where the dogs enjoyed treats, got some new toys and mugged it up at the photo spot.
Photo, left: Petra Rich, marketing and business development manager for Parkway Plaza
The couple previously lived in Japan and would take their cats with them everywhere. Butler said when they moved to San Diego late last year, they adopted dogs and have begun seeking places they can take them.
“Anything that’s dog related, we are going to because we like taking our animals out,” Butler said. “As soon as we saw there was a dog party at Parkway Plaza, we knew we had to come. This event is absolutely amazing.”
Butler said the couple has been seeking out events and places that animals are allowed. She said she would be coming back to Parkway Plaza in the future.
“Anywhere we can take our animals means the world to us,” she said. “We don’t have kids. These are our kids.”
While dogs will be allowed inside the mall, it’s up to each individual store whether to admit dogs.
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