Reyna meets the Zac Brown Band!

Last night Reyna went with us to go see the Zac Brown Band at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Our evening started out at around 4:30pm. We hoped in the car and headed to dinner at Donas Tomas in Oakland. We got there a half hour before they opened for dinner, so we went to a bar for a drink while we waited for dinner. It was Reyna’s first time at a bar, and she laid quietly at my bar stool while I enjoyed a Mojito. We had dinner and again Reyna was a good girl. She slept quietly under my chair while we ate. Then we headed over to the Fox Theater around 6:30pm.

As we entered the theater, the staff told me that they needed Reyna’s “papers” before they would let her in. Papers I asked? Exactly what papers did they need to see? The woman told me I needed to show her proof of all of Reyna’s shots! Well, who carries that? (Besides Lynn, LOL) Certainly not me. I wasn’t even sure that I had Reyna’s ID card with me because I have never been asked for it. Luckily, I did have Reyna’s ID card in her puppy sleeve. I handed it to the woman but she was still going on and on about these stinking shot records. While they were in the process of calling a manager up somehow I managed to convince them that the ID card was all they needed. Thank goodness I can be persuasive when I need to be. So finally, we were in!

We arrived a little early, so we went to the lounge for a drink. This place was packed! I mean there was no room to walk without running into everyone. So I tightened the slack on Reyna’s leash, and she guided me through the crowd. It was amazing! She would pick a line and just go for it with a steady pace. When it got too crazy to move forward, she would just stop and wait until it was clear to move forward. She has making the decisions and I was literally just following her. It was very crowded and really dark in this lounge. There was a concrete stair case that we when up and I was a little concerned because Reyna has had a fear reaction with a stair case like that in Pottery Barn when she was younger. Plus, there was the added element of it being extremely dark. But this girl went right up the stairs without a problem. Phew!

We went and found our seats and we had awesome seats. We were the first row in the loge section, on the isle. It was perfect. Reyna quickly made herself comfortable. What a good girl…..so far so good!.

I thought it might be a good idea to find the ladies room before the concert started, so Reyna and I headed off to find the rest room. The stalls were pretty narrow and short, but Reyna and I just barely managed to squeeze ourselves into the stall. Take a look at what a good job Reyna did – Yes, only for the blog!

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We walked around a bit and looked at the beautiful art work in this building. Wow, it was really stunning. Here is the picture of the theater. Yes, there were thousands of people there!

So the concert started and man was it loud! It was so loud that the floor and the chairs where vibrating. I started to think that maybe this was going to be way too loud for Reyna. But you know what? She LOVED the music. She loved it so much that she was watching the concert herself. Check her out.

She was so cute because she would peer her head over the balcony to see what was going on. This is what she was looking at.

So Zac Brown and his friends rocked the house! I became slightly concerned when Zac Brown announced that we would all be getting out monies worth because they would be playing for four hours! Wow…..my first thought was how cool that was, since most musicians' usually play for an hour and a half max. My second flashing thought was when was the last time Reyna relieved? Yikes, this is making me nervous. There were no in and out privileges, so I wasn’t sure if I would be allowed back in if I left to relieve Reyna.

Well, the band played on and on, and the music was something like I had never seen. A cross between country, rock and bluegrass and these guys were some of the most talented musician I have ever heard. I have never seen fiddles, mandolins, cellos, banjos, and steel guitars played like that. It was so incredible. They changed out their instruments on almost every song. If you ever have the chance to see these guys, I promise you, you will not be disappointed. These guys have flavor and the play at speeds that will make your jaw drop. One of my favorite guys was the one who played the fiddle! We was amazing throughout the entire show, but he really had the opportunity to show of his talent when they played their version of The devil went down to Georgia.

After a few hours, Reyna got a little restless, and she kept sitting up and of course I thought that was her way of telling me she needed to relieve. But after a while she laid back down and settled. Here are some photos of her that I took throughout the concert. You have to remember this was during a concert where the music was SO LOUD my ears were literally ringing. What an awesome pup!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. This was towards the end of the concert, and sweet little Reyna was using my foot as a pillow. This is priceless! So after 4 hours, the concert comes to an end. It was 11pm. Reyna had not relieved since 4:30pm so it had been almost seven hours! I sat there for a while hoping the theater would clear out a bit before we left. I gave my husband a poop bag and asked him to follow me out. I only got a few feet, when several people who were sitting behind us stopped us to tell us how impressed they were with Reyna during the concert. They wanted to say hello to her, so I did allow them to greet her, as long as she didn’t not try to lick them. Reyna had a nice visit because she was able to control her tongue.

We made our way down stairs but it took us sometime because everyone wanted to say hello to Reyna and talk to me about how a dog could be so well adjusted in a venue like this. Once we got down stairs, we met two guys that just had to meet Reyna. It turned out that one of them was a Police K9 handler for the past 6 years. He also does a lot of other dog training. Well, it was love at first sight between he and Reyna. His buddy was looking for a British line Labrador for hunting. These two guys visited with Reyna for a long time. Then, these guys were like glue to me and Reyna. Every time I turned around bam there they would be starting up another conversation with me. They were both just so impressed with her.

I decided I wanted Zac Brown’s cookbook. I believe he has some restaurants or something. So my husband went to wait in line and the cop and his buddy kept me company. When Tony finally made it back with the cookbook, I decided I wanted to have the Zac Brown Band sign the book.

So we get into the line for the meet and greet and the autographs and we were at the very end of the line! Reyna still had not been given the opportunity to relieve. So we waited in line for at least another hour. Most of the time we were standing on stairs, so it was a bit awkward for Reyna, but she was a champ. We waited and waited and waited and waited. Then, finally we were there. Zac Brown was the first one we met, and Reyna immediately went straight for him. He bent down and pet her head and Reyna snuggled right up to him and then she gave him a huge lick on the cheek. Zac didn’t mind at all. He told us that he had 14 dogs! Can you believe that 14 dogs! He said he was trying to create a new breed of dogs. I thought that was interesting and I wish I would have asked more questions about that. He described the way he would feed his dogs. He would use one of those round cattle feeders that spin grain out. Only he would put dog food in it and when the dogs heard that thing turn on, those dogs would come running. He thought it was cool a dog was at his concert. He didn’t want Reyna to leave, and he told Reyna he really wanted to take her home! I am sure Reyna would have LOVED to go with him, especially after hearing how he feed his dogs. Reyna would be all over that!

Unfortunately, they were not allowing photos, so I couldn’t get any photos of them together. That was such a bummer, but what can you do. You will just have to use your imagine and picture Reyna licking his cheek. That was sooo cute, even though I was trying to avoid her doing that all night. Well, I think it is a success if Zac was the only one she kissed. I met the entire band as well as the other three musicians who were playing with him. They all signed my cookbook, and that I do have a picture of!

We finally got home after 1am. Reyna never relieved and she did not have an accident. She went over 9 hours without relieving and it didn’t bother her in the least. If she can do this, she can do anything. Reyna, you made me very proud :)