Pittsburgh Pet Expo, Pittsburgh

An animal, like a child or a newborn car, requires a lot of maintenance. The array of pet-care options are staggering, as any pooch, kitty, or iguana requires food, grooming, training, toys, veterinary care, and an outfit for Halloween. Serving every imaginable need of pet owners, the annual Pittsburgh Pet Expo stuffs the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with 2 acres and more than 200 exhibits of products and services for every breed and genus of animal pal. Like a Disneyland that children enjoy, the expo excites wee ones with hands-on activities, a Sunday afternoon costume contest, and the thrill of pet competitions, where pooches go for the gold in extreme watersports games and dachshund races. For owners who seek to know more about their furry friends, vets are on hand to field pet-doctor questions and share dog-whisperer secrets.