Stay Away from the Dog

Another fun fundraising thing I get to do is to attend "agency fairs" - where a group of non-profits set up tables at a particular workplace for a few hours.  The employees are invited to wander through, get information about the various non-profits, and talk to the representatives.  It's basically meeting and talking with 40-50 people over the course of a few hours, and generally saying more or less the same thing over and over.

The volume of visitors is determined by many factors.  Sometimes the company doesn't do enough to sell the fair to their employees, so no one shows up.  Sometimes it's during lunch, so people don't necessarily want to stop and talk to you when their tuna salad sandwich awaits.  But most of the time, success at these fairs is determined by location, location, location.  You want to be in a central spot, but not under the picture of Governor Perry.  You want to be near other non-profits that will draw people's interest, but you don't want to be next to this:

This is Blanca, and she is the spokesdog of Austin Hearing, Smell and Service Rescue Service Animals of America of Austin.  I was next to Blanca at one agency fair.  I could have been handing out $20 bills and still had no interest from the people attending the fair.  Everyone wanted to pet Blanca.  And ask questions about Blanca.  And rub her stomach.  And pet her some more.

Blanca is a good dog.  Yet, with all the petting, rubbing, and rolling over, seems to me Blanca would not make a very good Hearing, Smell and Service Rescue Service Animal.  A point I made with the staff member from Austin Hearing, Smell and Service Rescue Service Animals of America of Austin.  She told me that Blanca wasn't technically a service dog, and was more of their ambassador dog.

Next time, I'm bringing Blossom.