We wanted to take Lola on a sleepover, despite the fact that she had been taken off the sleepover list. We asked about her, but Jessica told us she wasn't available. We had made up a list of a whole bunch of dogs we wanted to take on a sleepover, so we looked at the list and decided we wanted to take Kona. Kona was an old husky mix, residing in Old Friends. We got our overnight kit and we headed over to Old Friends to get him.

When we got there, we spoke to Julie, one of the caregivers at Old Friends about taking Kona for a sleepover. She told us that Kona was not actually available for sleepovers, because he was just too old. He moved slowly and couldn't get into cars. So we said OK, got back in the car and went back to Dogtown HQ. When we got there, a National Geographic film crew was filming a segment for an upcoming episode of Dogtown. We were quiet but stood a mere six feet away from Michelle Besmehn as she put a dog on the scale in the main area as the crew filmed it. We waited until they were done filming, then walked up to the front desk.

We told Jessica what Julie had said, and after looking at our list we asked if we could take Rebo instead. She looked him up and said that was fine, and that he was also in Old Friends. So we thanked her and drove back to Old Friends.

Julie was surprised to see us again, and we told her that this time we were there for Rebo. She was happy to hear that, and we asked if he had any special needs we should know about. She said no, and that he was a good choice for a sleepover. We were standing outside his run where we could get a good look at him, and he was a very handsome dog. A typical black and brown Rottweiler, Rebo was active and happy to see people standing outside his run, but not hyperactive.

Rebo's run-mate Mariette was getting picked up for a sleepover at the same time, so it was good that Rebo wasn't going to have to spend the night alone. Julie went in to leash him up, and brought him out to us. He was happy to be out, and began to sniff everything, including me, the tires on my car, the ground, etc. We thanked Julie, and helped Rebo into the car. We got in and drove away, and Rebo seemed perfectly happy to relax on the back seat as we drove. I thought Rebo was nice and friendly but not overly affectionate.

We arrived at the motel, and unloaded Rebo. We walked him into the room, shut the door and removed his leash. He started sniffing around, and then jumped up on one of the beds. I liked that, and I went to sit next to him to pet him. I gave him a couple pats, and suddenly he shoved his head in between my arm and my body, and flopped down on the bed next to me with his body pressing up against mine. Clearly, I had misjudged his capacity for affection. He was the biggest teddy bear, and he was just begging for head scratches, belly rubs and anything else we would give him.

Rebo reads his profile page on the Best Friends web site

I was shocked at how quickly he treated me like a lifelong caregiver. I sat there amazed at how affectionate he was towards me and how much he trusted me, despite only having met me for the first time about 15 minutes beforehand. He lifted his head to rest it on my lap, as if to show me that he trusted me with his life. That did it, I was smitten. What a beautiful, wonderful dog Rebo was. What an ambassador for the oft-maligned Rottweiler breed.

What an incorrigible love bug.

We just sat there giving him affection for a while, then we got up and unpacked a bit, took a bath and relaxed. Rebo was so relaxed he fell asleep on the bed. A while later we took Rebo and went out to hunt down some dinner. We ended up going to the Mexican place across the street, and while we were there we met a couple people who had walked Rebo the day before. They told us how much they liked him, and Rebo seemed happy to see them.

Once back in our room, we ate our dinner. Rebo was a little too interested in our food I think, but he wasn't being pushy about it. We gave him some treats and he lay down on the bed to eat them. Jon Dunn, the internet marketing manager for Best Friends, had invited us to hang out at his house that evening, so after dinner we got Rebo leashed up and walked over there. Rebo loved the extra attention, and he eventually fell asleep on Jon's couch.

We got back to the motel and we were all tired, so we crashed. Rebo got his own bed, and he slept like a big lovable rock all through the night.

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“That did it, I was smitten. What a beautiful, wonderful dog Rebo was. What an ambassador for the oft-maligned Rottweiler breed.”