Walk for Fidelco

    Here is part two of our trip to DC and Connecticut.

    After we rode the train to Connecticut we headed over to Fidelco for lunch.

    As soon as Xxon laid eyes on the Fidelco vans his tail started wagging and he wanted to run right to it. There is no doubt in my mind that he clearly remembers Fidelco. He did the same thing when pulling up to the building. He stood up and started turning and looking at everything. He was stoked to be back!

    After lunch we were able to meet the Lt. Governor and spend some time talking with her.

    She was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. As soon as we started talking I knew she was a grandma. I could just feel it. Definitely one of the most genuine people I have come across.

    After our meeting we headed to the hotel and got checked in.

    Saturday was a free day. We spend the morning just relaxing while Jesse did all the laundry from earlier. She had to laugh and said she couldn't believe she still had to do laundry on vacation ha ha.

    We were picked up by one of the staff and we decided to head over to the Big E which was a much bigger deal that I originally thought. We made it there without issue but discovered that there wasn't a single place to park after sitting in line for what felt like forever.

    We eventually decided to just get lunch. WHile driving away the line on the highway to get in stretched for miles. People love the Big E.

    We had dinner with some of the Fidelco staff that night and got ready for the next day.

    We got picked up at 9:00 and headed over to the Fidelco walk. People from all over New England showed up with dogs of all sorts to mingle and support a great cause. There were tons of vendors and a lot of things to see.

    The event kicked off with a handful of speeches. I had my part but I was really excited when Jesse got handed the mic and finally had a turn. Up until this point Jesse had never been able to speak and has always just stood in the background.

    She did amazing and had half the crowd in tears at the end of her 5 minutes. I hav decided that she needs to be a regular at this. She was nervous but was completely amazing.

    After the speeches we did the official walk. We went one mile around town and Jesse and I got to lead the ack. This was where we were glad this event was in Connecticut and not San Antonio. The weather was beautiful and it never even made it to the high 70s.

    After the walk Jesse and I were able to wander around and enjoy the environment. During this there were a number of different presentations going on. The first of which was by the Connecticut State Police.

    They brought out their drug dogs who were actually Fidelco bred shepherd who were a little too energetic for guide dog work. They told everyone about them and showed what they can do.

    Sometime after that was the Canine Freestyle Dancing. Seriously. I didn't even know this existed but apparently it is legit because one of the performers had just reached amateur status.

    One trainer and one dog would take the stage and do a routine to a song. They didn't hold the paws and two step around but would actually do different things. While the person was dancing the dogs would roll or jump or do some other sort of trick. One lady even did a dog version of patty cake where the dog patted her feet with it's paws. I can only imagine trying to make Xxon do something like that . He is all dude and would be completely embarrassed i'm sure.

    During these presentations we got to meet all sorts of different people. Two of the most memorable was the couple that actually raised Xxon from a puppy.

    This is the second time we've had the pleasure to meet them and Xxon remembers them well. Once we got him to take his mind off the other dogs and focus he started jumping all over them and wagging his tail. I know that he loved to see them again.

    After X they took on another dog who ended up being too energetic for guide work and who loved to chase things…not a good quality in a guide dog. They were able to keep her though as a pet. They joked and said that Xxon was their + dog and their other was the C- dog.

    We were able to talk for a while and Jesse and I really enjoyed them. they even invited us out to their house next time we were in the area. Their kids are all moved out now so they said they have extra rooms and would love to have the girls come visit with us. We are certainly hoping to take them up on this offer sometime.

    This event was the last big one for the trip. Monday morning was a small photo shoot where the staff wanted to get some photos with Xxon and some of the puppies.

    We forgot until that morning that X doesn't like puppies one bit. Who doesn't like 7 week old puppies? Xxon, that's who.

    It was so funny because the would just watch them and once they started to get close he would back up and just try to hide. Of course they wanted to play and just be puppies but he was having none of it. Instead they just took photos of X and myself and just let Jesse and I hold the puppies a little bit, which I must say is one of our favorite parts about visiting Fidelco. Endless puppies.

    Which reminds me, if any of you reading this are in the New England area you should look into volunteering to raise a pup or two. Every one of the families we met that do it absolutely love it. Like I said, endless puppies, and it's for a great cause.

    For those of yo who live elsewhere, Fidelco is a non profit and couldn't do what they do without support from the community. It you are looking for an organization to donate to or just have some extra money laying around look into Fidelco. They do amazing work and have taken very good care of my family and I.

    That afternoon we headed out. OUr first flight was four hours long, from Connecticut to Dallas. They took very good care of us on this trip. We finally had bulk head which was most important of all. In addition to that they gave us the lunch they were serving for free, and even offered us the first class meal as well which we politely declined since we were already eating. They checked back regularly and offered drinks and wrapped it up with fresh cookies…awesome.

    We landed at 3:30 and were supposer to board for San Antonio at 3:50 so we booked it across the airport to make it.

    Once we reached our gate we learned that again our flight was going to be delayed two hours. Just when I was starting to think we were going to make it home scott free.

    We sat around and talked with people until we were allowed to board. As we walked down the jet bridge Jesse said ,

"I am so excited that we are finally going home!"

    I told her that she shouldn't say that until we were on the way into the air. Now we know...

    We sat on the plane for around 45 minutes and finally the captain came on the intercom and said that there were a handful of issues that maintenance had to deal with and we would have to wait an additional 30 minutes or so. good grief American Airlines.

    Once we finally got in th air things went smooth. We landed, grabbed our bags, and had a guy there hail us a cab.

    Yet again the cab driver was not happy to see Xxon getting in his car. We was over getting mad at the cab director person while we loaded all our own bags and climbed in. The ride to the base was almost silent.

    Jesse went in with him to get a pass to get through the gate and he told her why he didn't like the dog. He explained that it was nothing against us or anything personal but that he had come from Somalia in 2010 with his 7 kids after his sister was killed there. he told her how people there used german shepherds as attack dogs and he has never been able to look at them the same again.I couldn't believe it. It was good to finally hear a reason for why some people act the way they do around him. God bless that man and his family.