'The Bachelorette' BarkFest Date Was Actually The Best

After a million seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, dates tend to get a little stale. I mean, how many more times are we going to watch these people go on hot air balloon rides? But Monday's episode brought a pretty creative date involving Rachel's four-legged best friend, and it might just be the show's best yet. Now, it's time for the real question: Is Barkfest real on The Bachelorette, or is it just a contrived situation to make all of us drool over the cute pups?

Unfortunately, it's hard to tell. There's no evidence of a festival like the one Rachel and Peter attended in Palm Springs, but dog-centric festivals definitely happen all the time, all over the country. Many of them don't seem to be as glam as Rachel's was, with the dogs riding swan floats or anything, but they exist. And let's be honest: Do you really need swan floats if you're surrounded by adorable dogs?

Basically, if their date looked like fun to you — and I can't see how it possibly couldn't have — chances are good that you, the date of your choice, and your pup can experience it for yourselves, especially now that summer is here.

This is the most jealous I've been of a Bachelor or Bachelorette date since the swimming pigs episode during Ben Higgins' season. It makes sense that animals are the key ingredient to the best reality show dates ever, so maybe the show will make more of those happen this season. Like a dolphin date. Wouldn't that be awesome?

I'm glad that the show has included Rachel's pup, since finding out whether your potential partner gets along with your pet is a very crucial part in deciding if you should spend the rest of your life with them or not. In fact, he did so well, I'm pretty sure Copper deserves more screen time. Bring him back, please!