Hot dogs strut their stuff at Upper St. Clair Community Day
No cats were involved, but rain and dogs greeted early visitors to Upper St. Clair Community Day.
A morning shower held off almost long enough to complete the 21st annual Hottest Dog Contest, sponsored by Howard Hanna with proceeds going to the Free Care Fund at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Brooke Heiser with Timmy, who was named cutest puppy.
Canines of various shapes and sizes competed in five categories: cutest puppy, best pet trick, best tail wag, best costume and pet-and-owner lookalike, plus a grand prize.
The top pooch turned out to be Simon, a rescue dog brought to the May 19 event by Violet Swigart and her mother, Marcella. Violet and Simon dressed in a cops-and-robbers motif, with him wearing jailhouse-type stripes.
“I thought it was really cute, because on his costume, his crime was ‘looking too good,'” Violet said.
Her cousin Alyvia Baculik and Kami, another dog who was rescued, won the lookalike competition as matching pink princesses.
“They had the costume from a couple of years ago,” Alyvia said about Violet and her mom, “and I just coincidentally had an outfit that would match.”
As far as cute puppies, one named Timmy qualified to win the honor, as he’s younger than the four-month limit. But he already is gaining in size on his proud owner, Brooke Heiser.

Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Alyvia Baculik helps a somewhat reluctant Kami onto the stage.
The dogs and their owners may have gotten a little wet, but as Saturday morning progressed, the weather changed to let the sun shine on the various activities of Community Day.
Among the visitors was a contingent from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 354th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment unit, based in Moon Township.
“Part of our job concept as public affairs is to assist not only with the community and media understanding what we do, but also to integrate ourselves within the community to see what you are doing,” Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Espinosa said. “So for events like this, we can use our skills with photography, writing and videography to let these soldiers hone their own personal skills.”
The mission of public affairs is to tell the stories of soldiers, their families and the Army Reserve as a whole. The 354th MPAD has won various categories of the Brumfield and Keith L. Ware Army Journalism awards, and cartoons produced by the detachment’s soldiers received the Thomas Jefferson Award, the highest honor across the entire Department of Defense.
Accompanying the public affairs journalists as a training exercise were two cadets, Terrence Murphy, who plans to become an Army surgeon or doctor, and Zachary Smith, a future signal officer.
“We get to show them a unique aspect of the Army,” Capt. Diana Alberti said.

Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Funk / The Almanac
A contingent from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 354th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment unit visits Upper St. Clair Community Day.