SonnyM-paws4vets: SonnyM

Hi Everyone,

What a weekend. Peggy, Jake and I attended the Kena Klowns Klown A Rama 2011 at the Dullas Hilton. This was a Shriner event and there were over a 100 klowns from the Mid Atlantic Klown Association in attendance. This would mean Shriner Klowns from the mid Atlantic states. Events included such activities as one to five man skits, makeup contest, balloon making contest, other events and lots of food, drink and fellowship. However, the highlight of the weekend was my friend Jake. We arrived one day early to get the lay of the land and Jake was most welcomed by the Hilton staff. He enjoyed his first evening by sitting under the dinner table in the bar area and never made a sound. His delight was sharing the king size bed with Peggy and I and having the room ice bucket as his own drinking fountain. Friday was full of surprises and his third birthday. Peggy and I were assigned to help man the registration table along with two other klowns. Jake took his turn sitting in a chair behind the welcome table and managed to say hello to most of the klowns and their wives when they arrived----except for the nap times under the welcome table. Everyone enjoyed saying HELLO to Jake and thought he was a beautiful animal. That evening, a hospitality room was set up and Jake got his first ride to the third floor in a glass elevator. I was not able to see the front of Jake as he looked out the glass onto the main hotel room, but my bet would have been a very large set of eyes looking all around with amazement. Jake attended the balloon competition on Saturday and was not impressed with the various artwork that was being created. The only upsetting thing during that competition were the various balloons that popped when twisted to tight by the klowns in forming such things as bicycles, dogs, butterflies and the like. Jake had settled in under a table and truly enjoyed another nap. Jake made a new friend in the Hilton's Director of Human Resources. She liked dogs and did not understand the numerous certifications that a paws4vets service dog had to accomplish. Jake was proud to show her his service dog tag and she made a copy to keep in reserve for future needs. At a Hilton hotel, ADA certified service dogs stay in the rooms free of charge while all other animals must pay a 75 dollar fee. The Director stated many people come into the hotel and claim their companion dog is a service dog. Jake was very instrumental in setting the record straight, showed her his tag and registration certificate and was pleased to inform the Director that any future companion dog should not be called a service dog and should be charged the 75 dollar fee. With that, Jake went back down the hall to the Klown hospitality room. Jake was also invited to attend the September klown outing at Virginia Beach, another famous gathering of Shriner Klowns for a Feztastic weekend. For the benefit of Jake, this weekend he managed to keep his cool while lots of folks talked to him, learned how to sleep under a table with all forms of activities ongoing, rode a glass enclosed elevator, attended several classes where folks were making lots of noise, was subjected to a lot of people food and never begged for any and mastered the art of helping run a registration table. Additionally, he learned how to pose for many pictures. All and all, it was an enjoyable weekend and Jake is ready to do it again, however, he is totally exhausted and asleep on the floor--again.