The Silver Bowl
 

Ace and I have been spending our free time down at the park in our neighborhood.   The park has been neglected for a number of years, and there's a lot of clean up to do, mostly from winters storms.

I cut and carry brush and limbs.  Ace explores and smells for deer tracks. 

 

Ace amazed me recently while we were working.  For several days, he's watched me pick up trash and debris, and put it in a plastic trash bag while we work.  So, he has started locating old drink cans in the leaves, and bringing them to me to put in the bag. 

 

I really think that dogs are capable of understanding more than we give them credit for.    

 

On our last visit, we were working near a little mountain stream that runs through the park.  I heard him coming up behind me.  He had a silver mixing bowl in his mouth.  It was a mixing bowl that I recognized.

 

Years ago, I had taken a stainless steel mixing bowl to the park, and hidden it under a rock out cropping.   I used it to dip water out of the stream,  for my previous Golden Retriever "Luke" to drink from. 

 

There was Ace, standing there with the bowl, looking up at me.  It brought back such incredible memories.

 

I took the bowl from him and told him what a "Good Boy" he was.  Then I washed it out a little, dipped it in the stream and placed it on the bank, so he could drink from it. 

 

Then we both sat down and listened to the sound of the stream.  I petted him, and told him about his brother Luke, and how we used to enjoy coming to the neighborhood park too.     

 

I like to think that Ace understood.