By Sarah Fertsch
As the proud owner of two golden retrievers, Cooper and Callie, I know how to make the most of the dog days of summer.
One of our favorite spots isn’t a dog park – it’s the beach. The smell of salty air, rolling waves, crabs and creatures crawling – all dogs are in heaven. I drive over the Longport bridge and head over to the well-known Dog Beach.
Cooper, my massive, furry, red dog, loves water. His athletic body swerves through the sand as he makes a beeline for the ocean. Callie tries to keep up, but her petite frame and short stature make it difficult. Her tongue flops side-to-side as she giddily hops along.
The beach is packed full of families and dogs bounding in all directions. A toy poodle shrieks at a German shepherd sniffing her tail. Two labs compete for a Frisbee thrown in the ocean. A mutt chomps on a horseshoe crab.
Callie loves people to a fault. Like any toddler, her excitement and energy cannot be tamed and she loves up anyone in sight. Callie spots an older couple, and I know in my gut this will not end well.
The couple, with a little white terrier, holler when Callie approaches. She bounces side-to-side and tosses sand in the air. Howling for attention, she jumps on to their chair and licks the woman’s face. I grab Callie and apologize. Then Callie starts to chase a seagull.
Cooper sprints toward the ocean. He swims past the breakers, much farther than the other dogs. I squint toward the horizon and see a furry head bobbing on the water. He’s a happy and strong swimmer, so I don’t worry too much.
A man in a racerback tank and sunglasses throws a tennis ball to his puppy. Callie gets excited and rushes the bulldog. She is howling, squirming, and nipping the pup’s ankles.
The bulldog is fine at first, but after a few minutes of Callie’s pestering, he gets annoyed. He’s barking now and nipping back. “Hey there,” hollers the man in sunglasses.
“Sorry!” I squeeze myself in between Callie and the pup and grab my dog’s collar. She’s little, but fierce. My feet dig deep into the sand as I try to pull her away, but she leaps toward the puppy.She licks my face and turns back toward the man and barks.
“Come on baby,” I beg. She sees a piece of algae up the beach and gets distracted. Suddenly she is tackling me – running me over – to get to the opposite side of the beach. I’m suddenly soaking wet, covered in sand, and spitting blonde dog hair out of my mouth.
Women gasp. Rising out of the water, smiling Cooper has a flailing fish in his mouth. I get up and run over to him. As I get closer, I find that it’s not a fish – it’s a sand shark.
Proud of his catch, Cooper darts away. He groans with pride as he circles the beach, waving the shark in families’ faces.
Callie sees me chasing Cooper and gets excited. The three of us form a dysfunctional beeline, with me chasing Cooper and Callie chasing me. We’re all sandy, soaking wet, and when I think it cannot get worse, I step in a mound of dog poop.
Gasping for breath, I dive onto Cooper and pull the shark out his mouth and quickly toss it into the tide. Frustrated, I lock my fingers around their collars and drag them to the car.
Sitting in our car, the rambunctious doggies pant as they shake water and sand all over the seats. They climb on to the passenger seat, overflowing onto my side and lick the steering wheel. I know they’ll sleep soundly tonight.
As summer draws to a close, the beach gets more and more empty. Families have school and work and the fun activities that fall brings. The thrill of beach towns soon will seem like a distant memory. During the summer, though, the Jersey Shore isn’t just paradise for Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers, it’s an oasis for furry friends, too.
