As I recounted earlier, Cookie Monster and I made our way to Dallas for a week long training conference. He took the airport, flight and ride to the hotel in stride, like he was born to it. I'm glad one of us is so confident. Maybe, one day, some of his will rub off on me.

So, we checked in at the hotel and another bellman, well, bell-lady, took our luggage and the 2 of us up to our room. Cookie was alert but at ease and even offered a friendly sniff to the lady.

Now, we were as administrators for the training conference. The company puts admins, facilitators and role players up in single accommodations, while learners share with a roommate for the week. I looked at the hotel online before we left Florida and was expecting a single room or, maybe, a junior suite. So, when I read the sign "Executive Suite" posted outside our door, I had to wonder, for a split second, if someone had made a mistake. But, the card key worked and the bell-lady let us into a very large space, with a separate sitting area and bedroom, The bedroom held a desk, side chair, dresser, minibar and 2 full sized beds. The sitting area held a full sized sleeper sectional, coffee table, entertainment center, chair, and dining table with 4 chairs, all leaving plenty of room for Cookie Monster to trot around, playing with his favorite stuffed animal - which he did after classes ended for the evening, every night. But, back to our entrance. Cookie wandered around the suite sniffing while I tipped the bell-lady and got information on hotel dining, etc. Once it was just the 2 of us, Cookie made a circuit of the place, trotting around, then walked into the bedroom and sat down, waiting for me to unpack us. I took Cookie's blanket out of the suitcase, one of the blankets that I spread on the foot of the bed for him at home, where he relaxes when we watch tv in our room, and where he sleeps at night. I spread it at the foot of one of the beds. He immediately jumped up onto "his spot," and supervised as I unpacked us and placed his food and water bowl on the floor. Having a few hours of "down time" before the first admin meeting of the conference, I decided to stretch out on the sectional and take a little nap - after I set the thermostats (one in the sitting area and one in the bedroom) at a temperature that would warn up the place. Dallas was a whopping 45 degrees that day and, being from Florida, Cookie and I were having a hard time shaking that cold feeling. Cookie decided that he would lay down on the floor in front of me, between the sectional and the coffee table and take a snooze too.

At 4 pm, we headed to the concierge desk to find out where our conference rooms were. The concierge was very friendly and asked if he could pet Cookie Monster. As a general rule, when people ask to pet him, I give Cookie the encounter command and let him interact with the new person. So, I gave Cookie his command and allowed the man to pet his chin, then the top of his head. Then I asked Cookie to sit and told him "hi 5," pointing to the concierge. Cookie sat on his haunches, raised his right paw and waiting for the man to give him the "high 5." Our concierge was hooked and Cookie was his favorite patron for the rest of our trip! He even told us that Cookie might be more comfortable going for walks in the cancer survivor's park, across the trolley tracks from the hotel, as it was a bigger grassy area than what the hotel provided for the "small dogs" that they allow as visitors. Well, he was right. Cookie enjoyed that park the rest of our trip.

At our first admin meeting, Cookie and I were introducing ourselves to people we had only spoken to over the phone. Cookie quickly endeared himself to everyone by offering "hi 5" to people without my having to ask him to do it. He knows it melts people's hearts and wins him immediate friends. So, by Tuesday (we arrived on Sunday morning), the wait staff, the business liaisons, everyone on my team, all of the facilitators, the role players, and a lot of the learners, were saying good morning to Cookie, separately, the concierge, reservationists, bellmen and housekeeping were his new friends, even the people in the business center (sort of like a Staples or Office Depot, but on a very small scale), got a daily "hi 5" from Cookie.

On Wednesday, 2 hotel guests, that I can only describe as testosterone monkeys, hopped up on too much beer and too many sporting events at the pub in the lobby, thought it would be funny to call after, whistle at, and bark at Cookie Monster, as we were crossing into the area where our training rooms were. Well, they thought it was funny until Cookie growled and barked at them, in return. When he did, several hotel staff appeared from out of nowhere, wanting to know who had done what to either me or the dog! Those two idiots were warned to leave the guest service dog and his handler (Cookie Monster and me) alone or they would have to "seek other accommodations." Cookie and I thanked them and went to one of our conference rooms to print thins for the next day's events. That night, on the pillows of the bed Cookie had decided he wanted to sleep on, all by himself, there were the typical 2 small dog treats, and 1 big milkbone treat! The hotel's way of apologizing to Cookie for the mishap earlier in the day!

Everyone was a little sorry to see Cookie leave, Friday afternoon, when we checked out. I think there is 1 or 2 more Dallas training conferences that we may be going to this year. I'm sure people will be happy to see Cookie again, and he will be happy to see them too.