We went to a local park. It's absolutely gorgeous there (Walnut Creek Park), and they have leash-free trails. We were all having a great time, Nola, Sean and myself. Sean ran with Nola for a bit, and we played fetch for awhile, too. Nola was so good on the trail. Encounters with other dogs were polite, and she consistently checked in with us if she got ahead. The power of good dog training should never be underestimated. However, ball drive trumps training with Nola, and this is a lesson I had to learn the hard way.
We were walking along the trail, and Nola walked to the side to check out the creek. She'd been walking with the ball in her mouth, which I let her do because it makes her happy. What happened next was surreal. As Nola looked over the edge, she dropped her ball which then rolled down to the creek. I tried to call her away from the edge, but without any hesitation, she went after the ball.
She made it to a ledge below, and realizing what she'd done, tried to climb back up. Sean tried to reach for her also, while I was nearly in tears, but if he'd grabbed her collar, they might have both fallen. Or he might have strangled her in trying to pull her back up. So, she figured it out. She found another ledge, scaled her way to it, and then found a way safely to the creek bed.
When I looked over the edge, I fulled expected to see an injured Nola laying on the ground, but instead she was splashing in the water and having fun...still trying to get her ball which floated down the creek.
I called to her to keep her there while Sean followed the trail to the creek, and we were all happily reunited, except for that damned ball. She never did recover it, but fortunately, I keep a stash a tennis balls for her. However, there will be no more tennis balls for Nola on that trail. We got really lucky, and now that I know she'll risk her life for a fetch, we won't be doing that again.
Gotta look out for this sweet girl and what would be my broken heart.
