Ever wonder where all the good dog boutiques have gone?

They're in the West Village!

Need a doggie day care? Check out Le Petit Puppy at 18 Christopher St.

Looking for high fashion doggie couture? Go to Pariero NY at 513 Hudson St.

For premium pet products head to Beasty Feast at 680 Washington St.

Train a fiesty dog with the help of the professionals at Pooch Academy at 9 Barrow St.

St. Vincent's Pt. 2: The Coalition For A New Village Hospital

     Supporters of the Coalition For A New Village Hospital at last Sunday's 100 Days Without A Hospital Rally

In April, as St. Vincent's Hospital began shutting down its medical services, doctors and nurses afraid of losing their jobs set out to find a solution to the hospital's billion-dollar crisis. They found their leader in civil rights attorney, Yetta Kurland.

When a partnership with Mt. Sinai fell through and public hearings were unable to solve the enormous debt, the hospital shut its doors. That's when the group got its name: Coaltion For A New Village Hospital.

While Kurland leads the coalition's legal team. The rest of the organizations members are a mix of doctors, nurses, business owners from the area, locals and out of staters - all volunteers  less than
happy with the fall out from St. Vincent's closing.

How to Eat: West Village

There are two ways to eat out in New York City - spontaneously or not.

The spontaneous bunch are romantics. They go where the city takes them exploring the shops, galleries and restaurants each new street brings. That's how I found Fish at 280 Bleecker St. It's one of the best seafood places I've been to in the city which isn't surprising considering its owner supplies 60% of the city's fish needs. Delicious, transcendental, price-y and totally worth it.

There is, however, a very, very dark side to spontaneous food adventures. Let hunger, pickiness, and indecision set in and suddenly you find yourself at a random Indian place you walked past three times too many. One mediocre meal later, you're considering breaking up with the picky boyfriend that forced you in there, and, Yay!, you're still hungry.

Here are two websites I use to prevent such catastrophes.

St. Vincent's Pt. 1: We're All Skinny Indians

Here are some pictures I took at last Sunday's 100 Days Without A Hospital rally. Organized by the Coalition for a New Village Hospital, the rally brought together over 1,000 New Yorkers and tri-staters calling for a new hospital on the now empty campus of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Title comes from Linda S., a member of the coalition I met at the rally. "Have you heard of a little skinny Indian? Ghandi. He changed everything in his time and so can we. We're all skinny Indians."