Leapin Labradors 6/13/99

Leapin Labradors

6/13/99
Copyright © 2001 Ray Hebert

Hello, this is Shasta.

It has been quite some time since I wrote, I want to update you on something we did yesterday. Shaq says he is to tired to write, I think he is just full of himself.

Ray took Shaq and I out to a long jumping contest. It was south of our home on the way to Omaha, or at least that is what Ray said.

Ray got us in the car around 8am for a drive of about an hour. I really like going for rides. Shaq always gets the back seat, he is to big to sit comfortably up front, and I get to sit next to Ray in the front. I can see everything from the front, and it is a lot of fun. If we are not driving very fast Ray will roll the windows down so that Shaq and I can stick our heads out the window. I love the feel of wind blowing on my face.
We drove for about an hour and arrived at a farm. There were a lot of other dogs there. Most were Labs like Shaq and I, but there were some dogs that looked like Labs, but were all Gray and had short tails. Shaq told me he thought they were Weimeriers. They looked like ghost running around. There were also Golden Retrievers, a couple of German Shepherds and some other odd looking dogs that did not look like anything identifiable. In all around 40 or so.

Seeing all these dogs got me very excited. I jumped out of the car and ran over to say hello. They were all so friendly. You could tell which ones were all work and no play because they would ignore everything except this bumper that their friend was throwing for them. Shaq went over to check out the competition. He growled at a few of them. I asked him why he did that, he said to psyche them out. He said you can't let them think for a second that they are better than you.

I went over and raised a lip to a couple dogs. They just looked at me and laughed. I guess I don't have the killer instinct that Shaq has so I just went over and played with them.

Ray took us out into a field to practice retrieving. He sprayed my bumper with this incredible smell. Shaq said it smelled like a bird. I really liked it. Ray would throw it out into the field and I would run real fast to get it. It was a lot of fun. Ray took Shaq over to the lake where the long jump competition would be and threw the bumper for him. Shaq ran to the end of the pier and jumped real far. He made a big splash when he went in.

Ray had already registered us for the competition, and I was the first dog to compete. Ray sprayed the bumper with the bird scent and let me sniff it. I went a bit wild, I really wanted it. Next he threw it and let me go. I charged down the pier, then I realized that the pier was running out. I put on the breaks and stopped just in time to avoid going in the water. Everyone started laughing, I looked back to see if Ray was upset he just motioned for me to run back to him, which I did. He picked me up and gave me a hug, and said that if I didn't want to jump in that was ok. We went over to where Shaq was. He told me that I was expected to jump into the lake and get the bumper. I told him he was crazy if he thought I was going to do that. Next came a bunch of other dogs that ran down the pier and jumped in. Some jumped very far. A few were as smart as me and decided not to jump in. Why get all wet when you don't have to?

Shaq was the second to last to jump in the first round. Ray threw the bumper for him and he went charging down the end of the runway and jumped real far. Everyone cheered when he got out of the lake. He stopped and shacked himself off then brought the bumper back to Ray. He came over to me and said that is how it is done. He told me that there were three rounds of jumps and that at the end of each round half the dogs were eliminated. So that meant I didn't have to go out again. I was very relieved and just as happy to be a spectator. Maybe next year I will give it a try.

At the end of the first round Shaq was one of the leaders, and got to jump third from last in the second round. When he went up to jump he looked like he was all business. He ran real fast down to the end of the runway and launched off the end. He seemed to fly forever. When he finally landed everyone started cheering. When he got out Ray ran over to meet him and gave him a big hug and picked him up. Shaq is very big and I was surprised that Ray was able to pick him up. Shaq came over and sat down next to me. He said that he must have jumped much farther than anyone else.

The third round was announced and Shaq was going to be the last one to jump. He said he got to jump last because he had jumped the furthest. When his turn came up again a lot of people came over and started shaking Ray's hand and petting Shaq. It looked like he was not going to get to jump. Shaq was all excited and wanted to jump in the water, he could care less about the attention. Finally Ray got everyone cleared off the pier and threw the bumper for Shaq. He ran to the end and leapt in. He did not seem to go as far as the second jump. But everyone was very excited just the same.

When he got out of the water Ray came and got me and the three of us went up to a stage where a lot of people made a big fuss over Shaq. I was excited to meet everyone and got lots of pets and belly rubs. Ray and Shaq jumped up on the stage, Shaq got a gift certificate to PetCo. He was very excited.

Well that is the story of our weekend. Shaq and I hope all of you had a relaxing weekend. Shaq is constantly talking about all the things we will get with the gift certificate. I want an automatic belly rubbing machine, you can never get enough belly rubs.

Cheers
Shasta

Howdy all, Shasta asked me if I would write a word or two on the competition. Shaq jumped really well. Last year he was third with a jump of 18'6", this year he won with a jump of 20'2". He qualified for the national long jumping championships. Not sure where or when they will be held, but I am sure we will be going. Shasta likes to wade in the water, she still has not done any swimming, when she is ready she will do it. Not going to force her. Both the kids had a great time, Shasta got to play with all the dogs who had been eliminated and Shaq got to get wet which is what he loves doing.

They are both out back sleeping in the sun. Shasta is laying on her back with her feet up in the air. I am sure she is dreaming of an automatic belly rubbing machine.

Ray & Shaq & Shasta