Hi,

I spent part of today at the Las Vegas Pet Expo.  I wasn't there as an exhibitor (but I may try my hand at it next year), but simply as an attendee.  I love animals and I'm always on the lookout for a new treat or toy for my furry pal, MacLeod.

I saw some interesting things today:

1.  Hooters had a booth.  They did a tie-in with a Spay & Nueter (Nooters) organization.  It was odd to see hot Hooters Girls wondering around, but it is Vegas and being a guy it definately didn't bother me.

2.  Tillman, the famous skateboarding bulldog was present.  Here's his photo if you've never seen him:

3.  There were some dancing Grannies in mini-skirts.  Shudder.

4.  Gregory Popovich, of the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater did a little show.  He's a Russian circus performer who moved to the USA (good choice, my grandparents were from Russia and they said it sucked) and now has a show here in Vegas.  The highpoint of his show is that he uses trained rescued dogs and cats to do tricks.  It's pretty impressive that he's able to get cats and dachshunds to anything on command.

5.  MacLeod almost got a new friend.  A group called Purrfect Friends (www.catadoptionslasvegas.com) had a bunch of very friendly rescued cats for adoption. 

But the Super Duper Highlight of the day was meeting one of my MySpace friends Las Vegas Magician, Animal Trainer, Entertainer and Reptile Rescuer Maria Gara, aka The SnakeBabe.  Besides her sexy magic and animal shows Maria also helps run, with her magician husband Steve, Reptile Rescue (www.reptilerescue.com).  They take care of unwanted creepy-crawlies, reptiles and other exotic animals and give them a good home.  The couple also do educational presentations at schools, museums, special events and birthday parties (I don't consider them competition.  My reptiles are all dead.  Their's are all alive, so there's a difference in what we do.  Also Maria is A LOT better looking than I am.).

Here's a shot of Maria and her husband:

And here's a rare hatless photo of me with Maria's 80-pound albine python (not a bad photo of me if I do say so myself):

Maria & Steve do a lot of good work out there taking care of animals that most folks wouldn't and I hope I get to see more of them in the future.

Keep checking www.capndavedinosaurs.com for more info.

Oh, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Dave