“Got your Collar”

In case you haven’t met our foster dog Duncan, let me fill you in. Duncan is a rambunctious puppy from the Dalmatian rescue. He’s got energy to spare and a mischievous glint in his eye. His favorite game as of late is what I like to call “got your collar.” It goes something like this: Shelby the boxer is trotting happily along in the play area. Duncan, trying to seem nonchalant but looking guilty already, sashays up beside Shelby. In one swift move Duncan is latched onto Shelby’s collar and before you can say “Duncan cut it out” Shelby’s collar was off. Counselor Heather then had to fetch (oh Duncan, you’re sooo clever) and replace the collar.

Once Duncan had tired of annoying Shelby he set his sights on one of the three St. Bernard Campers that day: Finnegan. Ummmm bad idea. Finnegan is as dear and sweet as a dog can be, but is roughly the size of a wooly mammoth. Duncan weighs a wiry (perhaps) 45lbs. I was momentarily distracted trying to jimmy off a vat of dog slobber from my pants leg when I saw something odd out of the corner of my eye. It took a moment to register what I was seeing. There was Finnegan, sauntering along at a leisurely pace, seemingly unaware that Duncan had attached himself to Finnegan’s collar and was being dragged along on his back, legs akimbo. Neither did this seem to bother Duncan, who just hung there with, I thought, the grim yet admirable assurance that he would succeed. In a few seconds time Duncan lost his grip and slid to the floor. Undaunted he made another flying leap for Finnegan's collar, this attempt coming from the front. Finnegan, half interested, sort of palmed Duncan’s head and swatted him away.

And so it went, Duncan working his way through the pack until he had played the collar game with every Camper at least 5 times. When play time was over Duncan had tired everyone but himself out. Got your collar was over…at least for another hour and a half.