ChicagoLand Visit

ChicagoLand Speedway was Monte's destination this weekend. He is the third puppy to accompany us to the race track. Echo and Marley have previously attended. ChicagoLand Speedway has always been accommodating to us and our trainees.

He endured a three hour car ride to the hotel, but we passed up the opportunity for the obligatory dog on hotel bed photo opportunity. We replaced it with the obligatory dog in front of race car photo. Those of you familiar with NASCAR will recognize Danica Patrick's ride. For some reason she is one of the most popular (part-time) drivers.

Arriving five hours before the first scheduled race, we used our pit passes to walk Monte through the garage area and acclimate him to the sound of car engines individually. This was the first time we had taken a dog into the pit area. Not impressed with Victory Lane, he was more intrigued by the sound of the air guns as the crews worked on their cars.

It was brutally hot, over, 90 degrees, and our primary objective during the day was to keep Monte cool and hydrated. We took every opportunity to lounge in the shade or enjoy a presentation in air conditioned comfort. A thunder shower rolled through which cooled things off, postponed one race until later, mangled our canopy, and provided a chance to be a dog (play in puddle).
Given the miles of walking during the day and Monte's aversion to slippery surfaces, we passed on the hundreds of metal steps to our seats in row sixty-four, for a leisurely elevator ride. Once to our seats, we had a spectacular view of the facility and Monte was eye-to-eye with his prey (birds). We had the whole row to ourselves and Monte was able to stretch out and relax, except for the noise of 43 cars roaring around the track below.

How will Monte react? ...