Live from Bawlmer: There's Nothing Like the Smell of Wet Dog in the Morning...

And that's what we got!

Antonio and I marched for the animals this morning with Jill, Rob and Rocky; Jess, Russ, beautiful Bella (see photo, right), Penny and Remy; and somewhere at the park was my friend Erin and her puppy. There were too many people and dogs to schedule things properly.

First, I'd like to report that Antonio made it the complete mile and a half without a problem.

He wasn't interested in water at any of the water stops, and did his best to lead our pack through the throngs of people and pooches. (It's not like he's an alpha dog or anything.)

Second, I'd like to remind my readers that Antonio hates water. Hates as in despises. And because of this, you might find it funny that we finished the race in a torrential down pour. Yep. The skies opened up, and our group was deluged with water.

I forced Antonio to walk for as long as I could, but once the lightening started up he was done. I picked up my dirty, wet dog and headed for the car. This photo is a bit blurry, but I think you can see just how wet he was by the time we found our car.

Third, I'd like to apologize to the driver I pissed off. I sat in a line of cars for over 25 minutes waiting for cars to let us out onto the street. When a car in front of me took an opportunity to get off of the grass and onto the street, I followed him. Yes, I thought it was clever for you to throw open your driver's side door to try to block my 3500 pound moving car, but I was already on a roll, and your door was not about to stop me. Yes, I heard you yell. Yes, I ignored you. I am sorry I angered you, but I assure you that I wasn't trying to be rude, I just realized that I had to be assertive if I was ever going to get out of that freakin' park.

Those points made, Antonio and I had so much fun, but we certainly got drenched - the kind of drenched where water is dripping off of your nose. Antonio rallied and did quite well given the conditions, but it's a major shame that we all didn't get to hang out longer together. I wanted my friends to meet each other, but it wasn't meant to be today.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR DONATIONS! I hope that Antonio and I pulled through for you and made you proud. In total, the event raised over $180k for the SPCA. That's incredible! You gave generously, and I sincerely appreciate the support.

And now for a few photos:

Penny in her SPCA scarf. (She's a Japanese Chin mix.) I tried to get a picture of her pretty face, but there was way too much going on for her to pay attention to me.