The tortoise and the fair

A few weekends ago, I took Frankie out to his first outdoor festival. It was the Red Poppy Festival, held in Georgetown, TX. The town closes off a whole bunch of streets and vendors take over the town. Everything from classic cars and live music to the usual arts and crafts.

In addition, my herp group had a tent display of snakes, tortoises and other kewl critters. This is (of course) where I was headed!

Now, my long-time readers know that I usually avoid taking my Service Dogs to work at outdoor festivals. It's usually very hot (we are in the deep south, after all) and there are usually Stupid "Pet" Dog Owners With Flexi-Leashes out in droves. But on this day I had no choice. The hubby was volunteering a model show (no, not "those" kind of models... model airplanes, cars, etc) and so either I didn't go at all or I worked Frankie.

Since this was Frankie's first time at this type of event, I didn't know what to expect. There are so many distractions, noises, smells, and yes, Stupid "Pet" Dog Owners With Flexi-Leashes.

But Frankie passed this test with flying colors, just as he always does! He needed to be electronically corrected only once because of his interest in another dog (yes, you know it, another dog on the end of a 15-foot Flex-Leash). He was briefly freaked by a mylar balloon that had lost air and was floating like a ghost along the ground (hey, can you blame him?).

But all in all, he did fantastically.

He did especially well in one area that Willie was never consistent with: pulling me up a hill. Now, this wasn't a hill that was the same grade as a ramp. This was a blocked off road that had a pretty steep grade, not to mention lots of obstacles like people, cables laying about, dogs, dropped food... the works.

Willie was never a consistent puller, but I don't fault him for that. Because of his hip-dysplasia, pulling uphill must have been very uncomfortable for him. Pulling uphill puts the most stress on the back hips of a dog.

But Frankie has never had a problem with this. He's as strong as an ox. And he pulled me up this hill like he was an entire team of Iditarod sled dogs.

Once we found our herp tent, Frankie and I were able to maneuver underneath the tent to get into the shade. I put Frankie in a down-stay and then was busy handling snakes to show them to the passing public (guess I'm an old hand at this whole snake thing now, eh?).

Frankie maintained his down-stay like a champ. Even with the noises, the heat, and the reptiles all around him, he actually laid down and relaxed. He never closed his eyes, but that's par for the course for him.

It wasn't until he saw the 25-pound tortoise only a few feet away from him that he got a little excited. But that novelty wore off quickly and he was soon relaxing his afternoon away.

My little boy has certainly grown up.


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