(Image: Chewy)

(Image: Chewy)

Maybe Capitol Hill is getting soft. Or, maybe, the giant fuzzy buddies featured in the big “Ultimate Pet Portrait” mural at Broadway and Pine are just too sweet.

But the huge yellow commercial work by Seattle artist Ariel Parrow that went up a few weeks back on the side of the old South Annex building on E Pine will be officially unveiled this week having remained mostly unmarred by tagging and vandalism — even if the represented critters include a very un-Capitol Hill mix of apparent purebreds, no mutts, and no pit bulls. The pet rabbit? On brand.

Tuesday, Chewy, the $17 billion online retailer of pet food and “other pet-related products,” will celebrate the mural and hosting “a fun gathering for pets and pet parents” with a tent in Cal Anderson Park with treats and giveaways starting at 11 AM just across from the E Pine artwork.

Chewy says it is also donating $100,000 in food and supplies to local shelters and will recognize two PAWS Seattle volunteers during Tuesday’s event.

(Image: Chewy)

The outreach comes as Chewy is adding a new Pacific Northwest headquarters as the Dania Beach, Florida-based company continues to grow. Despite increased efforts to create and upgrade space and attract new tenants in Pike/Pine, the new Chewy offices won’t be anywhere near Capitol Hill. We were hoping the old Stranger officers might be put to use. Instead, Chewy’s new PNW HQ is in Bellevue not on Bellevue. Woof.

The mural’s Capitol Hill location, meanwhile, will be redeveloped but construction is still a long way off. While there aren’t any plans for significant office space as part of the project, the planned redevelopment will create a new YouthCare Academy to provide homeless youth education and employment opportunities plus eight stories of affordable housing in a mix of preservation, adaptive reuse, and new construction.

Meanwhile, you also might have seen Parrow’s work in recent months at First Hill’s Museum of Museums and on the other side of the Hill where this very appropriate subject matter was featured in 2019 as part of the ongoing Hill House Mural project.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3pS1tDHI3L/

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻 
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍