[nagdu] Kent Heritage Festival

[Lori Dent]

Hi all,

I hope everyone had a happy and safe but enjoyable 4th of July weekend.

Rick Gipp and I and my girlfriend Darlene  worked our Lions food trailer  at the Kent Heritage Festival. This Kent Heritage Festival is a annual event that is held on the 4th of July  in downtown Kent, Ohio.

There was lots of different types of food  there, live music on three different stages throughout the festival and lots of  different venders there  selling their product. There was something for everyone at the festival. Plus a fireworks display at dusk 

We arrived at the festival around 11:00 AM but we didn't start working in our food trailer until noon. After we arrived there I went ahead and set up Gipp's mesh,foldable and portable crate . I can't get the crate set up fast enough for Gipp   because he's always wants to get right in it and lay down. He loves his crate.  After I got Gipp's crate set up and his water bowl filled with Water
 and set inside his crate we went and walked around for
an hour.

Also at the festival there's no pets allowed and there's signs posted up in different locations and entrances  stating this. But of course there were people bringing their pets into the festival. During  one part of the day, I was parking Gipp over by where our van was parked at and there was some grass  there so that's where I parked Gipp at throughout the entire day and evening. Anyhow, I was parking Gipp  and the next thing I knew when I   Turned around and    heard a dog barking and growling at Gipp as the owner of the dog  walked by us while the other dog a black Rott  Whiler  was trying to get at Gipp. Gipp didn't react to the other dog  and was a good boy The owner of   the Rott Whiler was trying to hold back his dog  while trying to walk by us while Gipp and I were minding our own business  and I was trying to park Gipp.

There were 2 other dogs that got into it with each other at the festival  and this is why they don't want dogs  at the festival and it's not a place for dogs anyways with fireworks going off at dusk.
 If the Kent Police  saw someone with their dog  at the festival they would stop the person with the dog and tell them they would have to leave with the dog 
 During the course of the evening  when  we weren't that busy at our Lions food trailer, I was able to take Gipp and go walking around the festival. It was getting more crowded with people and Gipp flawlessly guided  me through the crowds of people coming and going  from all different directions. Gipp even stopped and blocked me from walking  because of someone cutting in front of me and not watching where their going. Gipp and I probably walked through crowd of about two thousand people . And  at this event we usually get anywhere between ten thousand  people or more .  I was so proud of my boy Gipp for doing a fantastic job in guiding me through the crowds of people. 

 Sometime after 9:00PM Rick took my girlfriend Darlene  down to where all the people were  going to be at to watch the fireworks go off at 9:45 PM.

I stayed back at the food trailer with Gipp. I had a matt for Gipp to lay on and I sat in my chair  and listened to the fireworks going off. Gipp jus laid there on his side the entire time the fireworks were going off and he never once moved or got scared  it never even phased him one bit. I was so very proud of my boy Gipp for handling the fireworks  like a pro  and he never was phased or bothered by the fireworks going off. Gipp's one amazing dog  and I'm lucky to have him as my Leader Dog. It's wonderful to have a  guide dog that is very confident in his guidework to be able to guide me through such large crowds of people and to not be  phased or bothered by a fireworks display going off.

I just want to thank Gipp's puppy raisers and all the puppy raisers on this list for all that you guys do because if it wasn't for you puppy raisers we handlers wouldn't have these wonderful  Leader Dogs at our sides. So thank you for all that you do and keep up the good job you all are doing  because we handlers appreciate everything that you guys do with these pups in their first year of their lifes. Take care.

Lori and the Gipper