Gibson stretched her front legs out in front of her, raising her hind end in the air. She then slowly rose, stretching her back legs straight out, one at a time. It was going to be a busy day so she had to be in ready condition.
Her sensitive hearing picked up a car engine pulling into the nearby parking lot.
“What better way to welcome the human and the dog to the dog park than by waiting at the entrance,” she thought to herself. Despite her strict instructions to wait for Meistro, she hadn’t seen him yet. Since the new human was already coming, she didn’t see the harm in going to say hello.
She slowly trotted over to the parking area, casually stopping to smell a delicious stick. The musty smell of wood was intoxicating. She hovered over it for a few seconds, reveling in the earthy smells. The black car drove in slowly so she still had some time. Gibson leaned forward and gently tapped the stick with her front teeth before hopping around it playfully. Closing her eyes, she imagined carrying it and letting the humans throw it for her. Though the day dream was enjoyable, she shook her head as she willed herself to focus on her important duty ahead. The sticks could wait.
She proudly walked over towards the parking lot and sat down by the entrance, waiting patiently. As the car door opened, she rose to all fours, wagging her tail quickly as she smiled. A tall, lean man jumped out of the car followed by his large black dog whose fur glistened in the sun.
“Ball! Ball! Ball!” The dog shouted as he flew out of the door towards the open field. Rushing past Gibson, he knocked her on the shoulder, only stopping to turn around and look at his owner when he realized nothing had been thrown for him yet. His owner had since picked up his phone and was talking loudly on it, but the dog just yelled louder.
“Where you gonna throw it? Where? Where? WHERE!?”
“I’m ready!” The dog hollered again. “REEEEADY! READY READY READY!” Gibson silently chuckled to herself at his intensity.
Gibson continued to watch the dog’s enthusiasm and the human’s growing frustration. While on the phone, the human sternly held up one finger, pointed it at the dog and then brought it back in front of his lips. Tyler only did that when Gibson tried to tell him that someone was at the door or that the leaves were too loud or when there was a bird in the yard. She didn’t really know why this man was doing this now. Surely, he understood that the dog just wanted him to throw the ball. Humans were strange sometimes.
Suddenly, a yellow streak flew by Gibson, creating a loud whoosh as it rushed by her ear. Without even thinking, her instincts kicked in and she was chasing it. She could feel her claws dig into the dirt as she used the grip to propel herself faster. While she was forced to squint to protect her eyes from the wind blowing across her face, she didn’t lose sight of the yellow ball that was now lowering to the ground. Before she knew it, she was running beside the black dog who angrily turned towards her.
“NOO! IT’S MINE! I WAITED FOR IT! IT’S MINE!” He yelled. Through his frustration, the dog sped up and passed Gibson. Grasping the ball tightly in his mouth, he turned sharply and ran back towards his human.
“Didja SHEE how shast I shuz?” He called back towards her. The ball was still gripped firmly in his mouth and his long tongue hung out the side. As he spoke, the ball slipped out of his mouth. He playfully pounced on it before eagerly walking over to his human and dropping it at his feet. He sat on the ground, his thick black tail wagging so fast that it lifted loose, dried grass into the air, sending it gently floating away in the wind. As it passed Gibson’s nose she sneezed.
Gibson felt her body tense up as she anticipated the ball being thrown again. But suddenly, she realized she had missed the opportunity to greet the human. She shook herself off to gain her composure and ran up to the man, who was still on his phone. With her mouth pulled apart in a grin, her tongue hung out loosely, she sat at his feet alongside the lab.
Without even acknowledging her, the human tossed the ball again and continued his conversation on the phone. Once again, she could feel the wind flowing through her wavy, golden locks and the pads of her feet forcefully hitting the dirt. The black lab crept up behind her, so she dug her nails more firmly into the ground. The speed was invigorating. She could see the yellow ball nestled in the tall grass off in the distance. The black lab had since lost track of it and was pacing through the grass, his long muzzle up in the air, his jet-black nose twitching back and forth ever so slightly. Gibson narrowed in on the ball and prepared to grasp it in her jaws.
“GIBson! What ARE you doing?!” Gibson didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. It was Meistro the English bulldog and lead dog park ambassador. His large mouth and bellowing breath carried his voice throughout the park even though he was still making his way up the small hill. Gibson watched as his short, round body slowly moved towards her. He would stop periodically to take in a few heavy deep breaths and then he would sprint a few steps towards her before stopping again to catch his breath.
Gibson darted her attention from Meistro to the ball, which was right in front of her, just out of paw’s reach. While her mind told her that she needed to forget about the ball and make a good impression on Meistro, she discreetly reached out and nudged it gently, just to feel it. Doing so stirred up its delicious ball scent and as she basked in its presence, she momentarily forgot that she was being watched. A wind gust came and redirected the smell, bringing her back into reality. Gibson hesitantly looked over at Meistro who was now surrounded by two humans. A third was running over to him. The humans were kneeling and scratching his back, laughing as he smiled at each of them. Despite the attention, Meistro’s eyes were still intent on Gibson. A wave of jealousy washed over her as she watched the flood of never ending affection. She wondered if she would get that kind of attention when she was ambassador. She slowly began to walk over to the crowd when the wind redirected itself again and the scent of the ball circled back towards her. Its aromas couldn’t be ignored and instinct forced her to pounce on the ball before she proudly ran around the lab in a victory lap.
“Hey! How’d you find it!? It’s miNE!” The lab charged towards her. Gibson was ready and prepared to dart playfully out of the way. She always loved a good game of chase but alas, a familiar heavy breathing wasn’t too far behind her. Gibson dropped the ball instantly and froze. The lab hadn’t noticed her stop and ran right into her, sending them both into a rolling tumble. The bright blue sky overhead twirled around her as the dry dirt caused all three of the dogs to start sneezing. She stood up and shook the dirt off, and through the dusty haze that surrounded her, she could see the black lab already off in the distance, running joyfully towards his owner with the yellow ball in his mouth. She could feel her tail wag as she thought of the next throw and how she was at an advantage being this far out.
“AHEM!” It was Meistro impatiently cleaning his throat. Gibson felt her tail lower.
“Meistro, I uhh, was just getting warmed up while I waited for you.” She smiled, raised her tail and stood tall. She never lied but it wasn’t completely untrue. The best ambassadors would be on their feet all day, they had to be warmed up and ready to go. Maybe that could be a new policy she would implement: ambassador warm ups.
“Yeah?” Meistro’s ears perked up, his tongue gently wagging with each breath.
“Yeah!” Gibson replied, her tail wagging faster.
Meistro’s tongue quickly retreated into his mouth, a glistening splatter of saliva sprayed out of his mouth as it did. He stood tall and his face was stern.
“Ambassadors. Don’t. Play.”
“I uuhhh,” Gibson began to pace slowly as she tried to come up with an acceptable response. “Uhhhh.’
“Gibson,” Meistro’s mouth dropped open again as he took a few more laboured breaths. “You heard me.” He flopped down onto the ground, his back legs sticking straight out behind him and his barrel chest heaving up and down.
“Actually I think…” Gibson continued. Meistro shot her a stern look and cut her off. Gibson closed her mouth quickly.
“Today, you will watch and learn.”
“Don’t you think it’s important to implement an ambassador warmup?” Gibson asked. The more she thought about her spur of the moment idea, the more she liked it. “We have to be busy and on our feet all day. We need to be ready and in shape!” She spun around and dipped her body into a play bow.
“No.” Meistro slowly pushed himself up.
“Why not?”
“No.” He stared off in the distance, looking deep in thought.
“That’s okay. You can think about it.”
“No.”
“Maybe on my next shift you can just try…”
“No.”
With a sigh, Gibson lowered her tail and sat on the ground in defeat. The bulldogs were always so stubborn.
“Training. Now. Let’s go.” Meistro sprung up and gestured with his body for Gibson to follow him.