Who Let the Dogs Out?

Dateline Las Vegas, Nevada - where real people actually live.

Another great dog story!!

You meet all kinds of people in this world, and 99% of the time you find that if they love dogs, they are good people.

Almost every night, rain or shine, we take our dog to the park. For about 2 hours we meet up with several other good people known as dog lovers.

We have become what some refer to as a club, some a group. We simply call ourselves the dog people.

Our group of dog people has expanded as time has gone on with the fee to join being simply having a dog and not caring about the weather because the dog doesn't.

I could write stories about anyone in the group, but today I am writing about a lady and her dog that have recently joined us at the park and are now part of the dog people.

I have chosen to write about them because I had an interesting experience Saturday which I thought I would share with you.

The lady is Patty Martin with therapy dog extraordinaire, Cody.


Patty invited us to an assisted-living home to see a dog fashion show that Cody was going to be in, along with about 19 other dogs, for the people living at the home.

I have met and seen several therapy dogs but have never really had an opportunity to watch one in action.

So today I got to see first-hand how much joy these dogs give to people.

When we walked in the assisted-living home, there were the residents gathered around the runway either in chairs, wheel chairs or standing with the aid of walkers, some with oxygen, but all with eager anticipation of the show that was yet to come. It was obvious this was a big event for their day.

You could feel the excitement in the air as the announcer was testing his sound levels. One gentleman impatiently shouted, "Start the show."

It was amazing to see how excited the audience was with anticipation and how contagious it got as I found myself almost shouting, "Let's go, let's go."

The announcer now had his sound adjusted and announces the first dog as it enters from stage left and the oohs and ahhs mixed in with giggles and sighs from the crowd begins.

I was totally amazed the joy these dogs spread as one by one they paraded in their fashion attire across the makeshift runway.



















As the show was progressing, from time to time my wife Vicki and I would look at each other and smile as to how cute the dogs were but also as an acknowledgment as to the enjoyment we saw the people were getting from the show.

When the show ended there was a distinct murmur among the people as if to say, "Darn, it's over," but then the dogs mingled with the crowd which you could tell the people thoroughly enjoyed.

By day Patty and Cody visit hospitals four days a week bringing people a little sunshine into their otherwise dreary day.


By night Cody takes off his uniform and he and Patty are simply one of the dog people.

I realized those of us lucky enough to have a dog in reality have therapy dogs as ours bring happiness into our lives as well.

For those not so fortunate, Patty and Cody are on the job.