To serve or not to serve.

“We only serve adult dogs here, 3 years and up.” McCubbin said.

Yes, he was joking. Although in dog years, Evo, a mixed breed female, would be 35 in human years.

While none of the dogs got any actual adult human beverages, they did get a lot of treats, a lot of hugs and a lot of time with people who stopped in.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Evo, a 5-year-old mixed breed dog from Almost Home Humane Society of North Central Iowa, gets some love and attention Saturday during the kickoff for the Raise A Pint For Pets fundraiser at ShinyTop Brewing in downtown Fort Dodge.

For the next three weeks, for each pint sold at the brewery, McCubbin will donate $1 to Almost Home.

“It’s any pint,” he said. “We’re going up to $5,000. Don’t worry; we won’t run out. We would love that, but we’ll brew more.”

To help kick off the event, a team from Nestle Purina was on hand. They brought treats, water bowls, toys, bandanas, leashes and several door raffle prizes, including a Yeti keg cooler.

Julie Doan, lead human resources coordinator from the company’s Minneapolis office, was happy to be on hand.

“It’s just a great cause,” Doan said. “Come by, have a glass.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
ShinyTop Brewing owner Nate McCubbin meets Evo, a mixed breed dog from Almost Home that was visiting Saturday afternoon for the Raise A Pint For Pets fundraiser kickoff.

Adella Anderson, Almost Home director and operations manager, said that the fundraiser will benefit the many animals at Almost Home, but the field trip to ShinyTop was also good for them.

“We like to get them out,” she said, “hopefully find them their forever home.”

While only one of the dogs was old enough, in dog years, to have a pint, Anderson made sure that instead, they got water, treats and lots of love.

In addition, the band Stadium Drive played during the kickoff. They donated part of their proceeds from CD and LP sales too.

Bill Griffel, of Fort Dodge, was among the many patrons who came out onto the patio area and said hello to the visiting dogs.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Spade, a mixed breed dog from Almost Home, enjoys his new Raise a Pint For Pets toy Saturday during the Raise A Pint For Pets kickoff at ShinyTop Brewing. Nestle Purina provided toys, treats and several raffle prizes for the event.

He was planning on a pint or two.

“That — and a donation,” he said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Nestle Purina provided toys, leashes, water bowls and treats for the Raise A Pint For Pets fundraiser kickoff Saturday at ShinyTop Brewing in downtown Fort Dodge.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Paisley Charon, 6, of Humboldt, looks over a new dog leash provided by Nestle Purina at the Raise A Pint For Pets kickoff Saturday at ShinyTop Brewing.