Working at the Ohio State Fair last Friday was great! I met lots of nice people that gave me pats, hugs and told Doc what a good boy I am. Going to any state fair exposes you to new and interesting things that I never see in the suburbs where I live with Doc. But isn’t life suppose to be about having new experiences? Well, I packed in quite a few in just two hours of work, including meeting a new and strange looking friend named Clarissa.
Since we work across the street from the main entrance of the fair it was easy enough just to walk over to the building we were working in that day. It was already 11am by the time we were done seeing some patients and there was already a line of families waiting to go through the gates. When it was our turn we had to go through security. Luckily neither Doc nor I set off any alarms and we proceeded through without incident.
The first strange thing we passed were a bunch of squawking chickens and roosters crowing at the top of their lungs. I have to say they sure don’t smell very good and glad I don’t live next to any of them at our house. Some of them do have some magnificent looking feathers, so they have that going for them, along with supplying the eggs I like to eat on Saturday mornings. Next we walked by Mrs. Houdini’s place where she lives in a travel trailer and has a big stage she performs on. We never did see her. She must sleep late. I am sure it’s exhausting trying to free herself from the big chains they lock her in under water. I would need a lot of rest too if I had to do that for a living every day.
After walking past the fair rides on the midway and some of those food stands that have all the great smelling fried food, we finally made it to our destination. Not long after getting to our booth, people started coming over to see me. Now I don’t want to brag, but I was a big hit, especially with the children. One little girl came over and talked to Doc while she hugged me and told us all about her prize pig that she was showing in the afternoon. She was only about 8 years old and was so excited about her pig and being at the fair that she gave both Doc and I a laugh. We wished her good luck as she left with her parents.
In the time I was there I met people of all ages and from every walk of life. As always, me being there gave Doc the chance to talk to everyone about addiction and mental illness in a relaxed environment. I am always happy to help spread the message.
After about two hours, I was zonked, so Doc said it was time to take me home, but on the way out we made one more stop. It just so happened that where we were working was next to the cow barn. I smelled her before I saw her. As we approached I saw this very large brown animal and didn’t know if it was some strange looking oversized dog or what it was. As we got closer she came over to the railing and made a quiet mooing sound to acknowledge me and as not to be rude, I responded with a very quiet bark. We just stood there for awhile staring at each other. She acted like she had never seen a dog before so I finally went into a downward dog position to let her know I came in peace. After that she looked more relaxed. Her name was Clarissa and she said she was about 5 years old and lives on a dairy farm near Mechanicsburg, Ohio. She is taking an a vacation with her family at the fair and is also enjoying meeting all the people that stop by to see her and even get a chance to milk her. I found that impressive!
So as you see, animals provide a vital service not only in life but to educate people at the fair that may never have a chance to be around farm animals or even therapy dogs like me. It was so much fun to be there, but when we got home, this puppy was pooped and I slept and slept for the rest of the day dreaming about cows and deep fried bacon on a stick. What an adventure!