According to the dictionary, Gabby means a “Chatty Cathy” who talks rapidly. But Golden Retriever Gabby’s name is the abbreviation for the Angel Gabriel. To be honest, the verb Gabby “to talk incessantly”, also fits her.
I first heard the “loud angel” before arriving at the beach. She was focused like a pirate fur-verently digging for buried treasure in the sand, barking insistently with wild abandonment, calling to others to come and see her find. All you would find was a big hole, with a beautiful white Retriever happily digging to the earth’s center.
She places a bright green tennis ball at the top of the hole then begins digging. The ball rolls into the hole as she digs deeper and deeper. Sand flies out behind her spraying everyone.
Curious dogs approach and look into the hole thinking there must be a bucket of treats at the bottom given the digger’s enthusiasm. Some dog friends jump in, begin barking and digging tail-2-tail with Gabby.
Meanwhile her dad, Bob, sits on a bench watching and keeps busy handing treats out to other dogs. He’s officially known as “Bob, the treat man!”
Bob packs four pockets with kibble treats and all the dogs at the dog park know it. He looks like the Pied Piper with no less than six eager dogs around his feet.
“I check with owners to make sure their dog doesn’t have allergies,” said Bob. “I’ve met so many dogs and their parents over the years. The dogs politely take their turns and wait patiently. I hold up a treat, call them by name and they step forward. Now, some dogs look for my car and come running when they see me arrive and wait for their treat. Their joy makes my trip to the dog park more meaningful.”
Bob, an avid tennis player for 40 years, knows about the “used ball box”. Last week, he collected and tossed out 500 neon-green tennis balls for the dogs. The dogs and their parents love this recycled treat.
It is a good thing that Bob is a human ball-vending machine because of Gabby’s penchant for balls. When he tosses her a ball, she chases it, carries it half way back, and then won’t give it to him. The only way she will let it go is for Bob to have a pocket full of balls. He tosses a second ball and she drops the first and takes off after the “new” ball.
“When I am tossing out recycled balls, Gabby and her cousin dog, Amber, operate like a furry-relay team. After Gabby retrieves the balls, she drops them halfway back, so Amber picks them up and brings them the rest of the way back to me. This can go on for the entire box of balls.”
Gabby has Bob trained! She won’t come in from the backyard until he gives her a treat. She sits patiently waiting for him to “get the message” until he shows her a treat in his hand. The same for going outside. He has to toss a treat into the backyard for her to run out. It did not take her long to train Bob, he loves dogs. Gabby is stubborn and knows how to wrap Bob around her paws.
There is one exception to her “treat” rule. When she hears Bob taking his meds, she knows it is time for her doggy vitamin. Her reaction? She snuffles out a “hmmmff” noise, turns and walks away as quickly as she does when the vacuum roars up.
