Saturday, November 21, 2009

A day at the beach

Very rarely do the shelter dogs get an opportunity to be away from the shelter for an afternoon. But when they get the chance their spirits instantly lift and they flourish into the dog that they would be all of the time if they had their forever-home. I simply love watching this transformation and I had a front row seat this afternoon when Avea and Higgins went to the beach.

If you remember Jody's pack walk from a few weeks ago, you'll also remember that dog trainer, Kathy K. , agreed to let me come along. Today was also the case and I am so glad that I did!

Today was not the first pack walk that Avea has attended - in fact, Kathy took her for a walk a few weeks ago and it went SO well that she wanted to take her again. This is what Kathy said about her last walk:

I took Avea out for a pack walk and what a delight! she was on a long lead and I soon let her drag it and she played with every dog she met- small, large, very small, etc. she loved every dog she met and every person she met- she was so full of affection and happiness- that everyone we came across commented on her enthusiasm. and she stayed with the pack the whole time- a perfect off leash girl.


I'm happy to report that today's walk was also a success. Both Avea and Higgins were very well-behaved. They had a blast!! They ran off leash, played fetch with sticks, wrestled, swam, played with other dogs - it was AWESOME to watch these two great dogs have so much fun.

Both Avea and Higgins simply adore humans and canines, alike! And, I'm glad to say that they adored each other as well. Where Avea went, Higgins happily followed. When Higgins fetched a stick, he pranced around Avea trying to impress her. What a cute couple!

Today I was surprised, but happy to learn, that Higgins LOVES playing in the water!! On our field trip last month, Higgins was hesitant to play in the water (I think the waves were just too much for him!), but today he charged for the water without a single hesitation: happy to retrieve a stick and bring it back to me.

In the video below, you get a glimpse of Higgins and his new-found love for the water and you see Avea frolicking along the shore line towards her new doggy friends.




I can't say it enough: these dogs are fantastic.

4 comments:

Pam said...

What a delight to see Avea and Higgins having such a good time-- and off-leash, in-water, at that! Thanks for sharing the experience, Sam. And thank you, Kathy for your expertise, which makes these outings possible.

Joel said...

It looks like they had a great time. Avea is one of my favorite BACS dogs to walk, she is friendly with everybody. She's been at the shelter for too long, hopefully she's the next one to get adopted!

Anonymous said...

I am SO So Happy these dogs have wonderful volunteers like you guys!

These videos and day trip diary and blog things about the volunteers and individual dogs are really great. I would have never paid attn to higgens or avea otherwise. now i see them as great potentials! way to be innovative!

pest control nj said...

Pest Control NJ Pest Control Bergen NJ Pest Management Services New Jersey. New Day Pest Control offers pest control, pest management, pest removal, pest extermination, and other pest control services NJ animal control