Wild Westminster!  − 14 February, 2008

So, as you all know (if you have been following my blog), Zorro and I showed at Westminster 2008. It was a wild few days for us.
First of all, I was worried about Zorro in the Big City. As a Service Dog, he has been highly trained and exposed to a LOT, but there are just some things that can’t be “recreated” for “proofing” the dog – New York City is one of those things… Belgian Malinois, by nature, are a very environmentally-sensitive breed, and with all the stimulation of THE major metropolitan area, I was concerned it would be too much for poor Zorro.
We started off the trip with a terrible trip via Continental Airlines, who was too cheap to block off a seat for the dog (Delta always does – he lays in the foot space of the bulkhead). Well, not only did they put me in a seat I had to switch due to the fact that it was in the middle of the aisle, and no room for the dog, but the poor woman to my right was allergic to dogs and left the plane with swollen eyes and nose, but the little old lady to my left spilled hot coffee all over me and the dog (and herself). Then they “lost” my dog crate. It arrived to my hotel midnight that night – broken.
So they are getting a letter.
I did get a chance to spend time with my friend Rosa – we did Central Park and the CP Zoo and enjoyed a dusting of flurries. Zorro had never seen snow before. He was not impressed.
He took to the City like a duck to water, though – quickly learning how to navigate tight Times Square crowds, how to cross to traffic lights, do the Subway (not his favorite), tons of escalators, cabs (though one cabbie refused us service), museums, stores, elevators and he is even a star – Pedigree interviewed us in their new flagship store in Times Square.
The Big Show was CROWDED. A friend lent us a crate for the benching area, and Zorro charmed everyone who met him. We had hundreds of people stop by to meet us, including some wonderful friends, like my longtime mentor Shelly Leibowitz. Zorro gave some demonstrations of his skills, and was undoubtedly the best trained dog there. He showed beautifully, too – even though it was a “bad” day for me - he positioned himself perfectly the whole time. We left without a ribbon, but I still left with the best dog there – he wagged his tail the entire time and smiled. We even had people come up to us ringside to meet him.
We spent Tuesday with my sister and her boyfriend in the Museum of Natural History and before we knew it, it was time to fly home.
So, we are now back in sunny FL – happy to be back to the warmth and sunshine – and I am so much more in awe of Zorro’s happy, stable personality. He far surpassed my expectations. He was an excellent ambassador for Service Animals – perfectly behaved the entire time, despite city buses belching fumes in his face, jackhammers, horns blaring, sirens wailing, crazy people harassing him (and me), no place to potty in private, extremes in temperature, squealing children… I think I was more stressed by the end of our trip than he was.
What a good boy…