A Dog, Her Boy, A Bat, A Ball

She stands at the ready. Saliva covered ball at her paws. Eyes intensely focused on the pitcher. Muscles tense. Focus intense. There is no talking to her.

The pitcher begins to move. She picks up the ball at her feet in a split second. She watches as the batter swings and the ball whizzes past to the driveway pad above. The pitcher and batter shout simultaneously “DROP”!!

She releases the ball in her jaws. Quick as lightning, she races up the hill, retrieves the game ball and jogs back down to the rag-tag field.

Pitcher and batter call out simultaneously “TRADE”!!

She drops the game ball and picks up her ball. She immediately resumes the ready position.

There is no talking to her!

Her eyes will the pitcher to release the ball so that she can go again.

She is a Labrador Retriever and came into this world genetically programmed to use her nose to find and mouth to retrieve. That is her purpose. No searching or outside input required.

She has never once questioned this obsession.

There is added excitement and skill needed when the ball lands in the tall grass and grapevines. Her tail and hind quarters do the happiest wagging and wiggling you might ever see. She always emerges triumphant, ball in mouth.

The only thing that trumps baseball in Mara’s world is when my husband puts on his hunting pants.