Pass-Along JL
August 2010
To the Rescue
  oxie might have a new career as a rescue dog. Last week I took her swimming at the small inland lake we discovered earlier in the summer. It's a place we go to exercise when the air is too muggy and the pavement at the nearby park track is too hot from baking in the sun all day long. Swimming is good for aging and hurting muscles, as is the case with nine-year-old Roxie. (In the September/October issue of Just Labs there was an article about the physical benefits of aquatic therapy.)
It was an ordinary outing at the lake. As per usual, I would throw a ball and then try to race her to it -- she always wins, because my spindle-like arms and legs are no match to her webbed feet and rudder-like tail. There were a few people swimming around and jumping off the dock that stretched out from the shore.
A Labrador retriever is the go-to, do-it-all breed for service and rescue. The breed's well-known calm and willing nature paired with a perpetually positive frame of mind make the Lab a popular choice. They are dogs that people know they can trust.
We'd just finished our swim; Roxie was still dripping wet. Kids were screaming with glee and splashes erupted with every cannonball and pencil dive. I went to attach Roxie's leash when a scraggly mutt ran over, followed by a woman in a red t-shirt and khaki capris. Rox and the other dog were getting along well enough, and then the woman asked me, "Would you and your dog be able to help us? I'm trying to teach MJ [her dog] how not to be afraid of the water, but I tossed her ball out a little too far for her to get."
At the word "ball," Roxie's head popped up with regal intensity. We followed the woman and MJ to the other side of the beach. At my command, Roxie swam into the water and retrieved the lonely, bobbing tennis ball. She gently dropped it before MJ before returning to my side.
Like I said, Roxie is rescue dog material. 
You'll be able to read more about Roxie's adoption story in the November/December issue of Just Labs.
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