To set the table, one of my Labs and I developed a little demonstration of endearment where he would leap up and jump off my chest and back down again. I set up a signal for him to do it and saved it for special occasions like when he did a really good job at his drills and he knew I was pleased with his performance. I think it came to be very special for both of us and he was the only dog I ever did it with. When he got older and filled out, I really had to brace myself because he got up to maybe ninety pounds or so.
The event: One day I had all of my Labs at a pond running them through some handling drills. When I was done training the last one, I let them all out of the trailer to frolic around while I got a brush out and went back down to the pond to scrub my retreiving dummies/bumpers clean. I was bent over at the edge of the water scrubbing the bumpers. Little did I know that Jack (the scoundrel of this event) was stalking me from behind. He sneaked up behind me and laid there watching me.
As soon as I finished scrubbing my bumpers I turned around and put my hand to my chest, I guess to wipe off my hand. Well, that was the signal! Before I knew what was happening Jack took the two or three steps he needed to bounce off my chest. The trouble is, I had no idea he was coming and didn't brace myself at all. I went flying backwards into the water doing a perfect backflop a few feet out.
I came up sputtering and coughing and heard some uproarious laughter on the shore. It seems that a couple of fishermen had just been approaching and had seen the whole thing. One of them actually went to the ground holding his belly laughing so hard. They came over and told me it was the funniest thing they had ever seen and that they wished they had it on film because it would have been a winner on Funniest Home Videos. And I spent the next five minutes or so diving for my glasses at the pond's bottom. After I found them I went to shore and gave Jack a big old hug and then the four of us had another great laugh (I'm sure Jack was laughing with us).
I sure do wish Jack was still around to throw me in the drink just one last time! What a character he was.
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