Sunday, August 8, 2010

Day 236

Today was the big fundraiser for Judy, Minnelli and Lucky at Cafe Lago. When I arrived to film the event for National Geographic, there were already camera crews from CBS and Fox getting their mobile broadcast trucks ready for the evening news. I can't remember when a goat and two dogs have received so much attention. Originally, the animals were going to be outside on the patio for this event, but Gabbi, who owns Cafe Lago, decided to bring everyone inside since it was so hot. The goat loved being invited inside a Tapas restaurant and immediately started eating everything in sight. The two dogs seemed equally quick to notice all the delicious food on the tables.

Needless to say, the "three amigos" got lots of treats. The small restaurant was packed with people and everyone wanted to pet the unlikely animal stars. Judy, the Great Dane, is one of the friendliest dogs I've ever seen. She seems like a natural ambassador for animal rescue and she worked the crowd like a pro. Minnelli, the goat, is charming. He thinks he's a dog and acts exactly like the other two dogs. All three animals were extremely well behaved. They certainly behaved better than our own dogs under similar circumstances. Dot and Dash would have been counter surfing on the buffet table within minutes.

I really need to get a lighter camera. After a couple of hours with the heavy Beta-SP camera on my shoulder, I was exhausted. I couldn't use a tripod though, because the animals were constantly moving around and the crowd was so large that you couldn't see anything unless you were right in the middle of things. I had originally planned to take still pictures too, but things were so hectic that I didn't have time to switch back and forth between stills and video. Luckily, Janet came to the fundraiser, so I gave her the camera and she got some fabulous shots.

Dot and Dash seemed a little miffed that they were left behind during all this activity, but this was an invitation only event and they weren't invited. It's actually a good thing Dot and Dash weren't there. I didn't hear any barking all afternoon. With two Dalmatians thrown into the mix, there would have been a whole lot of barking. All in all, the fundraiser was a huge success and I hope it raised lots of money for the "three amigos" treatment.  I still need to take my video tape to DG Fast Channel in the morning to get duplicated before I can look at it. Hopefully, my pictures will turn out as good as Janet's.

Dalmatian of the Day

    Watch of the Day