DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Notes of Concern…
…Jack Blair

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

In the summer our two Labrador Retrievers, Bailey & Lucy, like to swim each day in the ocean and they especially like to “fetch and chase.”

The fetching involves our throwing sticks into the waves and their swimming out into the ocean to retrieve the sticks, which they then bring back to us, place them at our feet, and then shake the water off of themselves all over my wife and me.

The chasing involves catching a glimpse of one or more seagulls down the beach and then charging full-out down the beach barking all the way.

Somehow the dogs have come to believe it is their duty to clear the beach of seagulls. The gulls, however, are fully aware that the Labs will never catch them because the gull experience has proven, beyond a shadow of doubt that dogs cannot fly.

The dogs are still hopeful.

So I stand by watching the dogs run along, eager for what they assume they will ultimately catch, only to have the gull take wing when the dogs get close. I wish I could interpret what the gulls are thinking as they see these “beasts” charging toward them. It would seem all they would be thinking about would be escape, but they stand their ground, teasing the dogs, until the last minute.

Dogs are loyal.

Dogs are strong.

Dogs have a great nose and understand scents.

But alas, dogs are not nearly as smart as their owners think they are. And they are most certainly as dumb as the seagulls think they are.

One of the great thrills for the seagulls is when they take wing out over the ocean and the chasing dogs, without looking around, find themselves pretty well out into the crashing waves before they recognize that there will be no seagull sandwich on a hard roll for lunch that day.

My greatest thrill is when I go to the beach and there are no other people there. In the Maritimes that happens more often than not.

On days when there are other people present, the dogs often forget about fetching and chasing and instead head straight for the other human beings (which may well be just a different version of fetching and chasing to them). If the people happen to have one or more dogs with them, then it is a definite certainty that Bailey and Lucy are going to visit.

Bailey is docile. He wants to see people and play with children. Unfortunately, strangers do not always know that and panic grips them when the big black dog is charging in their direction.

Lucy is noisy. She barks and snarls. So while she is charging a group of people they not only panic but often run.

Running is not good.

Doggies seeing people running assume a new game has just been introduced. Most dogs can outrun a human.

The other day we arrived at the beach and it was completely unoccupied. So I left my leashes in the car.

Big mistake.

The dogs and I were in the middle of a throw and fetch outing when I noticed a young couple arriving just down the beach from us. They had two toddlers and a dog!

Fortunately, Bailey and Lucy were concentrating on sticks and swimming at the moment so I made a crucial decision. I would walk further away from the newly arrived people and continue tossing the sticks. The dogs would focus on the sticks and continue up beach with me. Eventually, I thought, the people would leave and we would go back down the beach to the car. Unfortunately, the beach is below very high cliffs and there is only one path off the beach back to parked cars. And the “new” family was right at the bottom of that path.

A lesson in faulty reasoning was presented to me.

The people did not depart. I got tired throwing sticks. The dogs showed the occasional interest in the humans down the beach. So I made a crucial decision: take the dogs, climb and struggle up the high edge of the beach and walk back to the car through the field above.

The beach is well below the overhang cliff. I had never been up there before. The dogs were game. So up we climbed. Once reaching the top I found that what looked like a peaceful green pasture from the beach was actually a “prickler” filled field. The growth was taller than the dogs so they had difficulty making their way. The thorns were tearing at my legs and blood was trickling down toward my ankles.

I felt I had crossed the Rubicon and going back would be no better than going forward. So onward we trekked. I took some pleasure in the fact that we would avoid the family and their dog and get to the car without any adverse event, other than the blood on my leg.

Unfortunately, when we had just about reached my car, the dogs noticed the people (and their dog) below on the beach. We had reached a point where we were parallel to them. And that is when the dogs reminded me that waves, “prickler plants”, or very tall cliffs cannot keep a dog from his intended playmates.

Bailey and Lucy, ignoring the steep incline of the cliff and the danger it posed simply jumped off, ran and slid, barking all the way, toward the fearful small group on the beach.

Whatever terror two dogs running toward you on the beach might regularly instill, two dogs running, barking, and sliding down a hill toward you must simply take your breath away.

These presumably very nice people, who thought they were alone on the beach enjoying the waves and the gulls, had looks on their faces that would be suited to a Hitchcock movie. I was very pleased to be out of sight on top of the hill.

The dogs came to a crashing stop right before the family. The tail wagging and sniffing probably came as a relief to the humans. After every person, and the visiting dog, was completely and satisfactorily sniffed, the dogs gave a passing thought to chasing some gulls but instead came climbing back up the cliff and jumped into the car.

When we returned to the cottage there was no treat for them. I hosed them down with well water to get rid of the salt water on their skin. For some reason, they love swimming but hate hosing. Normally they get a treat after the bath. Not this day.

But since they are dogs, their disappointment was momentary and followed quickly by a long snooze. From the whimpering and light growling and quick sleep body movements, I expect they were reliving their great adventure with sticks, gulls and people on the beach.

Final score:

Dogs- 1
Owner-0