Kayden made me VERY happy and proud today. I was contacted by Lollypop Farm (a local shelter in Rochester) a month ago by the director of public relations. They are trying to raise public awareness and improve the public's perception of the breed and she asked if Kayden and I could come out and do a disc and weight pull demo as well as a how to clinic for their shelter fundraiser. The shelter fundraiser is pretty large and they raise over 130 k at the event so it is jam packed with people and their dogs.
They built a special fenced in area for the demo right next to the stage where a local radio station personality announced us prior to the fundraiser walk. There was a big crowd gathered around to watch our disc demo (we were surrounded by people and barking dogs) so I was a bit nervous to say the least. To make a long story short, Kayden did amazing. Spot on during our demo, and so laid back and social after it. We had so many people come up and comment on how cool the demo was and how misunderstood the breed was (silly statement you hear all the time I know, but it meant something today).
I don't get sentimental too often, but it was so special to have my ex con help other dogs and maybe change the minds of just a few.