We always tell Remus (CH Shakin' My Booty Rezzamatazz CGC SH) he's the perfect dog. Time and time again he proves this to be true. Recently, I (Mel) had to go to Pueblo, Colorado for the weekend for a Board of Governor's meeting. Since the hotel I was staying in was dog friendly, I decided to bring Remus along. It isn't often he's separated from the pack for a special adventure.

As I packed our bags, he began to do his "I know we're going somewhere" dance. Because we would only be gone a couple of days, I packed lightly making sure to grab a few of his favorite toys. As we loaded up into the car he seemed to be wearing a big smile--He was going on a trip with Mom! Just him and me!!

As we merged onto the highway, he settled into the passenger side seat. I selected a playlist from my iPod, cranked it up and sang a few tunes to my perfect boy. He appreciated my warbles as only a loyal dog would but seemed relieved when I decided to let the artists sing their own words without my assistance.

After checking into the hotel we headed to the the Gateway Park along the historic Riverwalk where there would be an outdoor reception and dinner. Remus and I wandered along the Riverwalk enjoying the beautiful spring day. Remus wanted to swim but seemed to understand I had no intention of letting him. With the time of the reception approaching, we headed back. He greeted everyone as if they had been long-lost pals. He solicited lots of pets and ear-scratches from the crowd and was behaving like the model canine citizen he is. Then a little boy around 10 years of age caught my eye. He was watching Remus and looking like he wanted to come over to say "hello". I asked and he excitedly rushed over. Remus was just as gentle with this young boy as he's always been with all children. I suspected this little boy was growing bored of hanging out with all these adults and asked if he would like to toss the ball for Remus. He enthusiastically agreed and I went to the car to get a fetching toy.

Remus is a master fetcher. He runs after the tossed toy with so much force--it's like watching a Thoroughbred breaking from the gates at the Churchill Downs. When he was less than a year old, he broke two of his toes on different occasions because he would dig into the ground so hard as he ran after the ball. He's mellowed a touch now that he's almost 8 but he's still an exciting dog to play fetch with. The little boy's face lit up and he did a few gleeful hops as he watched Remus bolt for the bumper he had just tossed. Remus grabbed the bumper and with just as much enthusiasm, ran back to the little boy and right through the boy's legs, dropping the bumper as he came back around. Remus and this little boy were instant friends.

While Remus' regular retrieve is pretty awesome, I decided to bring it up a notch and show the little boy how to put Remus in a "whoa", throw the bumper, then walk back to Remus and with a tap on the head release him with a "fetch" command. This trick was gold as far as the little boy was concerned. He was thrilled he could control this powerful, 60 lbs Vizsla with two simple words. As Remus and the little boy played, lawyers at the reception watched with appreciation. I received several compliments on how well-behaved and trained Remus is as well as a few comments about how surprising it was Remus allowed this little boy to control him. One person asked how long it took to train Remus. I responded, "His whole life--and we're still training!" Several other people couldn't resist the fetch game the little boy was enjoying with Remus so they wandered over to toss the bumper for Remus too. I watched as my special boy gave these complete strangers all his heart as they played his favorite game.

The next day was just a half-day of a boring meeting in an air-conditioned conference room. After taking Remus for a quick run first thing in the morning, I loaded him up and we left for the meeting. I brought Remus into the conference room with me and asked him to lay quietly during the meeting. He was so quiet and well-behaved only the people sitting to either side of us knew he was in the room. After the meeting adjourned and Remus and I said a few brief "good-byes", I received many more compliments on what an incredible dog Remus is. I thanked everyone, but let them know while he is an awesome dog, we've dedicated many hours to training and regularly meeting his high-energy exercise needs.

I promised Remus if he behaved during the meeting, we would do a hike on our way back to Denver. We stopped in Colorado Springs and hiked for a couple of hours on a trail close to the "Seven Falls". I watched my beautiful athlete of a dog race up and down the mountain side, sniffing the abundance of unique scents.

We both wore big smiles the entire weekend. Mine was because I was grateful to have such a wonderful Vizsla companion to share my life with. Remus wore his because he was enjoying and being enjoyed by so many people. Remus loves people and the attention they give him. As I drove back to Denver, Remus sleeping peacefully in the back of the car, my heart was content from my perfect weekend with my perfect dog.