It’s been almost 10 years since I started this group. I love corgis, and I wanted to share that love with other like-minded people in the Bay Area. Fortunately for me, there are a lot of us — and San Francisco especially loves corgis.
Every summer, during the last weekend in June, Lia and I invite many of our closest, stumpiest friends to brave the throngs of cheering crowds on Market Street. Not just to walk a parade route, but to help people find and celebrate their joy — and to remind them that they are seen, they are loved, and they are not alone.
Almost 10 years in, I’m still moved by what this community has become. There are people who have never missed a single parade with us since we started doing this. Not one. They show up every year, heeding the call without hesitation. There are others who only recently discovered us and have come back every year since — like they were always meant to be here. And then there are the people we had yet to meet when we first moved to San Francisco — neighbors, strangers, fellow corgi lovers — who found us, and in finding us, found each other.
That is the thing that gets me every time. We didn’t just build a group. We forged a community that means something — to all of us, in ways big and small.
Lia and I do this all year round — hosting meetups across the Bay Area. But during Pride weekend, it hits different. Pride weekend is when we stand up. When we show up visibly, joyfully, and without apology, in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. We proudly wear our rainbows — especially at a time in our country when there are people in power who want to diminish that pride, erase our history, and make people feel small, or “less than,” for who they are.
We don’t do small. We do corgis. We do big pride.
When I looked out at the crowds lining Market Street this past weekend — watching their expressions change the moment they spot Lia riding in the back of Pauline’s convertible, and then that smile widen even more when they realize there are more corgis following behind — that is everything. It’s the same joy Lia brings to the world through our therapy dog visits: something that reaches people regardless of their background, their circumstances, or where they come from. Doing this during Pride weekend, in front of thousands of people on Market Street, that joy gets amplified into something extraordinary.
I had just gotten in from Lia and Emi’s evening walk when we were stopped by a group of young women returning from the festivities at Civic Center. They asked to pet them, and when they noticed Lia’s rainbow collar, their faces just lit up. “She’s an ally!” — and just like that, something shifted. They felt seen. They felt supported. By a corgi. That is why we do what we do, with a rainbow, all year round. That is the power of showing up.
That is the whole point. Those smiles aren’t just about the dogs (though, let’s be honest, the dogs help). They’re proof that joy is an act of resistance. That showing up, together, with your whole heart on display, is one of the most powerful things any of us can do.
We stand up. We resist. We show up every year because every year, it matters.
And I am so grateful — genuinely, deeply grateful — to every single one of you who has ever shown up with us. Whether this is your first parade or your eighth, whether you marched or cheered from the sidelines, whether you’ve been here from the beginning or just found us this year: you are why we keep doing this.
Here’s to another year of short legs, big hearts, and even bigger pride. 🐾🌈