Betrayal

Rugby has a special place in the Applewoods pack and he follows his own rules. One of Rugby's rules is that he is NOT the dog that does the play retrieving.

Rugby is of the opinion that the labs are there specifically for him to chase while THEY are doing the play retrieving. This is a good plan since most of the toys in the yard are not Rugby-sized and working so hard to play with a toy sort of takes the fun out of it.

Rugby is not bitter about this at all and rather enjoys chasing after the big dogs. He was having a great time playing with Holly, the lab, and Sandy, the golden retriever, as THEY did the play retrieving with this little red ball today. It didn't matter that the red ball is an unusual pick for the pack who much prefers the jolly balls.

I guess Rugby got a little too excited about the snow and forgot the game he was playing. He was so proud of himself for being first to the ball the next time I threw it. That never happens and he was feeling really good about the whole situation.

That was until he found out he wasn't the first dog... he was the only dog. The puppies had moved on to better toys and he had no one to carry the ball back for him, but more importantly he had no one to chase.

He was devastated... and embarrassed... I think the picture speaks for itself.

He spent about 30 second staring at me from out in the yard (as if I had betrayed him by throwing the ball) before he finally wandered off to pee on the stump.