My usual fishing partner turns 16 today. Betty’s been with me for many hundreds of trips from a two hour jaunt into Roseville, to fly in lakes in northern Manitoba to the tidal waters of the James River in Virginia and south to Toledo Bend. She’s been to 23 states and two provinces in Canada and she’s still going strong.
At 16, her eyesight isn’t what it used to be and her hearing is pretty well shot, but her enthusiasm for another road trip is just as good as it was when she was a pup. True, she now spends more time under the console of the bass boat sleeping, but once I set the hook, she’s up on deck checking out the action. She loves to sit on the deck and check out the shoreline for squirrels and people to talk to. Since her hearing began going last year, she misses out on some of that, but she’s still willing to mix it up once she sees them.
There are very few clinkers in the dog world, but every now and then, you get one that’s extra special. Betty has more personality than any ten people I know and is the smartest dog I’ve ever met. Which can be a handful. She knows what she wants and she makes sure I know it. She also has the biggest bark for an animal of her size. When she barks, people react. She saved my bass boat from getting stolen a few years ago, barking up a frenzy at 4 am. Came out to go to work and it was dragged halfway to the street. Good doggie!
I’ve met so many people in the last decade who’ve seen us out on the lakes. Tall dorky lookin’ fool and his small brown dog. If you see us, stop by and say hello. We both enjoy meeting new people. And if you happen to have a large, male black lab, she just might fall in love. She likes the big boys.
