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Archive for February 22nd, 2005
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005Kodiak in California
I wonder if there are any frogs in there??
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005Kodiak - The Frog Hunter
Hunting frogs on our trip to Maine…Read more in the article posted February 22, 2005.
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005Frog Hunter
Kodiak loved to hunt frogs. He never caught one (that I know of); but he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. At four months old, I took my german shepherd puppy on his first camping trip. He sat in my lap in the car and quivered with excitement. We lived in Maine, so the woods were green with foliage and the leaf rot smell rose to our noses when our feet disturbed the ground. The mosquitoes were also happy we had come. But, such is camping in Maine.
I chose a level area near the lake to erect my tent. Kodiak trampled down to the water, tail wagging, huge ears pressed forward. He was the picture of the big adventurer. And he was about to discover frogs.
When I heard the splashing, I wiped the sweat from my brow, said a few choice words, left my still rumpled tent laying on the ground, and went to investigate. Kodiak was up to his shoulders in the lake. He stared into the water with an intensity that belied his gentle nature. Suddenly, he launched straight up, his feet clearing the surface of the lake for a few seconds before plummeting back to the water with a splash. His head disappeared into the murk, then reappeared, water dripping from his head in rivelets.
I was momentarily confused. What was he doing? But, as I got closer to my puppy, I could see what he could see. Frogs. Lots of them. They sat on driftwood and rocks; they swam like tiny torpedos through the water. Kodiak was waiting, with the patience of any good hunter, for the moment when a frog would swim by his front feet. Then he made his move. A pounce that any canine could be proud of. I laughed in the still, green forest, my collapsed tent no longer on my mind.
We camped for two days. While I batted away mosquitoes, Kodiak hunted frogs. As dusk fell over the woods, he returned to camp, collapsed in the pine needles and slept a deep sleep that I’m sure included dreams of his prowess.