The Book Clubs are male space; no girlfriends. This was specifically noted by Andrew, just for future reference. And I agree.
I don't think anyone would care if you brought a dog.
You look pretty Italian? I don't care if you look Italian. I actually think Meds are some of our more based ethnicities. Well, the Spanish are cucking quite a bit nowadays but that's neither here nor there.
I say come to the meetup and just see how comfortable you feel.