It’s a Dog’s Life, Dining Alfresco on Canine Cuisine

David Migicovsky doesn’t mind if people think his restaurant is going to the dogs. Migicovsky, owner of Coco’s Sidewalk Cafe in Bal Harbour, Fla., had regular customers who liked to bring along their pooches when they dined at outdoor tables. So he decided to offer a second menu that catered to the canines. Omar Sharif, a 5-year-old white Maltese, wore red pajamas and a ribbon to lunch at Coco’s. He wolfed down three plates of beef tartare--ground meat mixed with chopped onion, raw egg and herbs--finished off a helping of chopped turkey breast, lapped up Evian water and barked for more. Dessert was people crackers--in the shape of mailmen. Omar’s tab: $9.75. Leftovers, naturally, are packaged to go in a people bag.

--It’s not likely that John Cuff, of Maple Shade, N.J., will ever forget his recent vacation in Florida. Then, again, it’s possible he will forget it. Cuff, 54, flew to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last April and rented a yellow 1986 Chevette from National Car Rental System. During his stay, he suffered a heart attack and had to be hospitalized in Fort Lauderdale. Cuff left the hospital on May 7, but to this day, he has no idea where the yellow Chevette is. “I remember going by a sandlot and a parking lot and feeling bad. So I parked the car in the parking lot and got a cab,” he said. The next day, he took another cab and tried to retrieve the rented car. “The next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance,” he said. After he was released from the hospital, Cuff said, he tried to find the car, but to no avail. He then returned to New Jersey. Meanwhile, Sue Haberly of National Car Rental said the company is charging Cuff $39.95 a day until he remembers where the car is. “I can understand their position,” Cuff said. “They could be renting the car. But I hope they understand my position. I’m in a hell of a fix because, legally, I’m responsible.” The tab, which is still running, now exceeds $2,500.

--”It was love at first sale,” said Jim Maggio, manager of Thayer Street Store 24 in Providence, R.I. Aileen Cordell, a clerk at the convenience store, and Ammar Al Sahli were married on Aisle 3, in front of the Pop Tarts. Their month-old love affair, said Cordell, 24, of Dighton, Mass., started with a simple “Hi” from Sahli. “It was the way he said it,” Cordell recalled, demonstrating the suave wave of the hand that Sahli had used to accentuate the greeting. “Then he said, ‘You look beautiful tonight.’ ” On her wedding day, Cordell marched down Aisle 3, past the pickles, deviled ham and Vienna sausages. Sahli, a 22-year-old Palestinian studying at the Community College of Rhode Island, awaited his bride beside the Dial soap, not far from the glue.