Mischief Monday: Dive Right In!

Don't you hate it when you miss something super exciting because you just were not present for the big event? It happened to me on Saturday.

The weather was less than enticing: windy, rainy, chilly, and just plain yuck-y. When Ted asked if I wanted to walk Toby my answer, believe it or not, was that I'd rather go work out in a nice warm dance studio. Which I did. Result? I missed Toby's First-Ever, Never-Say-Never, and Probably-One-And-Only Swim!

This is as far as I go.

Retrievers just adore the water, right? Wrong, in Toby's case. But the old instinct for grabbing ducks and geese is there. When he sees them or hears them quacking he stands stock still and whines, "Lemme at 'em!" If his behavior with his Quackers toys is any indication, those ducks are lucky he's leashed.

Can I finish gutting him now?

Ted took Toby to the arboretum for his walk. It's great exercise because no one is there, especially if the weather's bad. Hidden in the midst of a crazy urban business center, the only wildlife is songbirds and squirrels.  The tree rats run a few inches to the nearest tree trunk (it's the arboretum after all),  so Toby can run off-leash. A creek called Starr Run bisects the arboretum and acts as a runoff filter and drainage for the surrounding neighborhoods. 

So on Saturday Ted is ambling along behind Toby when he spots ducks in the creek, simultaneously realizing that Toby sees them too. From his frozen alert stance Toby throws caution to the wind. That dog is fast when he wants to be. The mallards lift off the water, flying above the creek. Ted is pounding along the trail calling ineffectually to an orange blur hidden by a screen of splashing shallow water.

My previous personal best -  wading.

The water becomes deeper, and the ducks cross to the other bank, quacking their disgust. Without a second thought Toby dives right in and actually swims to the other side to keep up the chase. 

And once the ducks had escaped, Toby sat on the creek bank looking plaintively at Ted. No amount of coaxing would make him swim back. Of the two, Ted had to be the real retriever. 

If I had a time machine, I'd go back to Saturday morning. 
With a camera.