A Retriever Who Tries

 Note: Photos in this blog post are not current and one (of goose with goslings by Dave Menke, USFWS) in in the Public Domain.

 

Three weeks ago today, I took my two dogs on our favorite nearby walk. In recent history, the property was a country club golf course and is now a part of the Gettysburg Military Park (Emmanuel Harman farm). As you can see from this three-year-old photo, both dogs enjoy getting into the water. But this story concerns Rosie, the chocolate lab.

 

On May 9th, I unhooked both dogs to let them run over the high grass and grounds (to the east of the pond). In the winter and early spring, the water is clear enough for a quick dip. However,  it succumbs to excessive algae in the warm months. As Rosie ran directly to her preferred spot, I cast my gaze for Henry (part border collie, part pointer), who is far less predictable. He was ignoring the water and running adjacent to the pond. Then I heard indignant honking and saw something completely unexpected—a Canada goose charging over the water to intercept Rosie, who was preparing to enter from the bank. Next extended and low, the goose honked and railed against Rosie who backed up and then away, changing her swimming plans. At the same time, I looked down at my feet to see a gosling, one of a few scattered about in the high grass, in my vicinity, and at some distance from the water. 

 

I plowed on quickly as I could, calling for Rosie to follow. In other years, I have seen Rosie dash into this same pond and swim courageously out to a family of geese, parents and goslings, where she imagined she might grab a goose. However that has never happened. Instead, the geese agilely swim away, and Rosie responds to my beckoning call, due mostly to her swimming fatigue. 

Last Sunday, Rosie dashed into the pond, swimming out to its center, her skimming head only slightly less terrifying than a freshwater crocodile. She inconvenienced at least three small Canada geese families, causing them to paddle out of reach. She probably wanted to show them who is boss . . . clearly, the geese.