I took my dog Sunny for a short hike with my kids today. Toward the end, we took turns throwing a stick into a creek for her to fetch, which she did in her usual eager manner. About the fourth throw, she lost track of the stick, then decided on another target: the top of a tree that was laying in the creek right at water level. She grabbed it with her mouth and proceeded to tread water for 5 minutes, trying to get it to me on the shore. I should stress that it was firmly attached to the rest of the rather large tree and definitely wasn't going anywhere....
It was cute for the first 90 seconds when the look in her eyes was sheer determination. ("I'ma get you this stick, ok dude?") The next minute I was just waiting for her to give up, still amused by the situation. (My son and daughter were both laughing hysterically up until this point.)
When it looked like she was starting to struggle and showed no signs of letting go, I yelled at her to drop it and started throwing rocks and sticks into the water next to her. Still she held on. I was starting to think I'd have to jump in to pry her off, but the last stick I threw hit the tree just right and it jarred it in her mouth enough for her to let go and come to shore.
Damned determined dog.
