It all started with that orange-and-blue Chuckit-brand ball getting caught up in a tree.
Max’s owner, Mike, you see, always sits on the same bench under the same tree in the dog park — not
far from the Playhouse parking lot, along the paved path that parallels the sledding hill fence. On this particular day — it was about four years ago — we found Mike staring up into the leaves of that White Oak, where the ball was wedged firmly in the crotch of two branches. Mike was throwing whatever he could get his hands on — sticks, rocks, discarded dog toys — to try to dislodge the ball. Beagle Man, of course, couldn’t resist getting involved in what became a competition: They both wanted to be the one to knock the ball down. Meanwhile, Max and I bonded over watching our two owners spend at least 20 minutes on this “game,” throwing, cursing, and giving it maybe 35 “one last try(s)” each. It was pretty hilarious, I’m not gonna lie.
Once they gave up, they took us for a walk. (The story, by the way, would have a happy ending: Mike would come back the following day with a 20-foot ladder and a bamboo pole to do the job.) And it turns out Max and I have a lot in common: We look a lot alike, even though he’s a Golden (a lot of people think I am, too), and we’re both big-time fetchers. He’s maybe a little faster, but after all, he’s only 9, and I’m 11. Here’s the important thing, though: We both take our retrieving seriously. It’s not some silly game, where we try to steal the other’s ball, then put it on the ground, stand over it, in a taunting way, daring the other to try to take it back, like a lot of dogs I know (my cousin Ruckus, my nephew Pickle, my neighbor Grace, to name a few), which is really annoying. Max and me? We’re perfectly happy with each of us just chasing our own ball, and not worrying about what the other is doing. A much more mature way to play — at least that’s how I see it.
The only problem is that when we walk the trails with Mike and Beagle Man, Max, who has a lot of curiosity, constantly wanders off to sniff this and sniff that. Then, when we all realize he’s not with us anymore, we have to backtrack and find him. But it’s not a biggie. Overall, we get along fine.
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Can’t believe ANY dog is faster than Kemba! But, do agree that Kemba could be mistaken for a Golden.
Lang you are so right! Amazing Grace was a true speed demon and she and Kemba had quite a chase!
(I say ‘was’..she is still around for which I appreciate every day; she has “sparks” of running again when a squirrel
or rabbit is involved:). PS Hope you’re doing well!!!