True story from the Bay of Quinte, Napanee Ontario, January 2002

Sam was a black labrador, well trained and experienced in the art of retreiving. Ducks, that is. And diving ducks
in particular. It seems that some species of duck dive to the bottom of bodies of water when in serious trouble.
And having a backside full of buckshot would qualify as serious trouble. This, then, was Sam's speciality -
retreiving ducks that had been shot and were still spunky enough to grab on to roots on the bottom of the lakes
where they were being hunted.
Sam was as much a lover of the outdoors as his owner, and wasn't left on the porch when ducks were out of
season. Sam loved to ride in the boat on fishing trips, walk in the woods, and slip and slide on the ice during ice
fishing season.

Sam had been on many ice fishing trips, the cold didn't bother him much. He would usually spend his time
outside the shanty having fun as dogs do. This one particular day was even too frosty and windy for Sam,
though, who was the hardiest of outdoorsy dogs. So Sam shared the shanty with his owner and a friend, staying
warm and watching his two-legged companions try to entice fish from the icy depths. Ever the attentive hunter,
Sam saw a pike swim by the hole in the ice and before you can say, "What the heck!" Sam dove through the
hole and disappeared into the wintry water, below a foot of ice in pursuit of the pike. Sam's companions jumped
and screamed, completely taken by surprise, stunned in a frantic sort of way. Sam was gone. Pandemonium
lasted a few seconds, then dumbfounded despair set in. Sam was gone and they couldn't imagine how they'd
get him back.

If you're not familiar with ice fishing, at least you've probably seen 'Grumpy Old Men' and know that ice fishing
lakes become shanty towns in the dead of winter, with small temporary buildings dotting the ice over the
structure where fish hold during the frigid months. Just as the dumbfounded despair was quieting the situation in
Sam's home shack, pandemonium was starting anew in a shanty some twenty yards away. Two more ice
fisherman had their chilly, but peaceful enterprise disturbed as Sam clambered out of their fishing hole, shaking
water from his coat and literally knocking the fishermen out of their chairs, with a healthy 7lb pike swinging from his mouth.

 

haha thats cool

my dog cant even catch a treat in its mouth..too big n clumsy sometimes but a smart dog...dont even compare to sam tho lol

 

Wow..now theres a dog who really wants to please his master. I've heard of very few dogs that will swim under water.

 

very nice story.maybe you should have posted it in the thread requesting some good news.lol

 

i heard that story before... couple years ago i think but i dont recall Sam having a pike in his mouth when he came out of the water. i wonder if anyone knows the origin of the story?
whether the story is true or not, it sure is interesting.