In my last post, I talked about how our dog Toby got to be called the Wonder Dog after surviving a run-in with a train. This week I thought I would spend a little more time talking about Toby. He was a wonderful dog, but we did not take the time to train him, which would have made him an even better dog. As I mentioned, my wife would regularly walk him out on the U.S. Air Force Academy grounds. One area, the Boy Scout area, on the East side of the U.S.A.F.A. went down into the valley where a small creek ran down to join Monument Creek. The creek was small and in the hot summer months would consist mainly of a series of mud puddles. Toby was a Golden Retriever mix, and he loved the water and never missed the opportunity to play in the mud. He would often come back from the walks, wet and covered in mud, which eventually took a toll on the back seat of our Honda Civic, making it unsuitable for anyone else.
Because Toby liked the water so much, he was a great fishing dog. I could take him with me to the river and he would wade right out into the water with me and stand there, sometimes shivering, while I fished. There are days I call perfect days which often involve fishing or hunting. One of those days was when I walked down the stream below Skagway reservoir to fish. The stream immediately below the dam gets fished heavily and so the fish are mostly small. But, if you go down further, there are deeper holes with larger fish. On this day, the weather was perfect, sunny, but not too hot. Toby and I walked down to where the stream goes down into a canyon with large rocks and deep pools. I caught plenty of fish and had a great time. Toby got to run around and wade in the stream. By the time we walked back up to the reservoir, exhausted, he slept the entire way home. Days like that are not only good because I catch fish and enjoy being in nature, but also because I commune with my heavenly Father. On another trip, I took Toby with me to Platte Springs which requires a short but steep hike down into a canyon where the South Platte River runs. It was a hot day, and when we got to the bottom, I walked to the pool I was going to fish, and Toby went with me and jumped right into the river. The problem was that the rock I was on was about three feet above water level and the rest of the bank surrounding the whole was about the same. Toby could not get out of the water. I had to lie down on the rock and pull him out, which was difficult since he weighed over one hundred pounds. Fortunately, he did not jump off any more rocks into the river that day, and again slept the entire way when we drove home.
When we got Bailey, I wanted to know what kind of fishing companion she would be. The first time we took her to the river, she would not stay with me and was afraid of the water, not wanting to get close to it. I thought since she was by nature a fearful dog, she would not be a fishing dog. However, first impressions are not always indicative of the result. Bailey has turned into a great fishing companion. She does not stand out in the water shivering like Toby, but she stays on the bank close to me. She will wade and even swim, if the water is deeper than expected, to stay with me as I walk up and down the banks. She will also stay with me on the shore of lakes, which I fish more often since I have aged. She finds the fish exciting and tries to catch them when I get them near the shore. She tries to catch my flies when I cast so I must be mindful of where she is. I look forward to having more perfect days of fishing with Bailey.
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