Lunching with dogs at Hotel Derek

On Saturday, I had the honor of eating lunch with some of Houston's friendliest and best dressed dogs. That's right...I was at Hotel Derek's second annual Project Derek Dog event.

And I wasn't the only one there. Close to 200 people brushed, primped and dressed up their pets for the event.

"We came last year and had a lot of fun. It's kind of crazy seeing all the dogs attending a fancy lunch with their owners, but that's what makes it such a great event," said one attendee.

That's right. Lunch. With dogs. And it was super fun!

The morning started off with a wine and dog biscuit reception, where owners had the chance to show off their dogs in front of a panel of celebrity judges. This year's judges were Melissa Agular from The Houston Chronicle, Frank Billingsley from Channel 2, Lori Reingold from Channel 13 and Jeff Gremillion from Houston Magazine.

Great Day Houston's Deborah Duncan was also there as the event's host and announced the top 10 finalists who got to strut their stuff on the catwalk.

"I'm amazed at how well-behaved these dogs are," said Duncan.

I totally agree with her. These dogs were all so well behaved. There was no barking, no chasing and no growling. There was a little bit of butt sniffing, but that's the way it is with dogs.

Now don't start thinking that this event was only for show dogs or just the fancy breeds, because it wasn't. It was for all dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. In fact, many of them were rescues.

That's because this pet-friendly charity event raises money for Citizens for Animal Protection, which shelters rescues and finds homes for homeless animals.

In addition to the dog show, attendees and their pets were treated to a gourmet lunch, received a goody-bag filled with dog treats and products and got to listen to renowned animal communicator Sonja Fitzpatrick - who I thought was incredible.

Fitzpatrick is like the ultimate animal whisperer and is known for her talent of being able to speak and listen to animals.

Throughout the lunch, she impressed the audience (and me) with tidbits of what the animals were telling her. She was able to pick out specific details of the animals' lives such as the color of their bed at home, new additions to the family and medical conditions.

"I'm always honored when animals talk to me. They communicate on a higher level of consciousness than humans," Fitzpatrick said.

While everyone wondered what secrets Fitzpatrick would reveal about their pets, the true guests of honor on Saturday were the animals.

It didn't matter if your pet was a select breed or a rescue with a great personality, at Project Derek Dog all the dogs were special.