Earlier this week we shared a video from 2016 of Asa and myself playing on the beach. As we watched, we were reminded of a valuable life lesson we learned that day that wasn’t readily apparent in our video. We learned the importance of helping a stranger in need and paying it forward. In fact, we were the ones who needed help! Here is our post from that day…

Our Beach Rescue (May 16, 2016)

Thank you Boba Fett for coming to our rescue and teaching us an important lesson!  No not Boba Fett, the bounty hunter in The Empire Strikes Back.  Boba Fett, the Golden Retriever we met at Willard Beach yesterday.  He is our hero!  I’m getting ahead of myself here.  Let me explain how our new best friend rescued us in our time of need.

So there we were ready for an awesome day of adventure, exploring a new beach.  That morning while Asa and I got ourselves ready, we put Mom and Dad in charge of checking our backpack to make sure we had everything we needed.  You know just the essentials of treats, poop bags, water, treats, towels, camera, treats, leash, tennis ball, and treats.  When we arrived at the beach we were in awe to see all the dogs there.  This was going to be a fantastic day in dog paradise!  That is until Mom and Dad realized they forgot to pack our tennis ball!  What good is a trip to the beach without a ball to chase?

Oh sure we were surrounded by dogs playing with their own tennis balls.  But beach etiquette requires that you must be invited to join in on the fun, and not be rude by inserting yourself in their game of fetch.  By the way small fluffy dog, don’t think I didn’t notice when you buried your ball as I approached!  Anyways, Asa tried to improvise by picking up a big rock.  But that only got him reprimanded by Dad.  So there we were forlorn and hopeless.  Happy to be at this beautiful beach, but sad that we had to content ourselves with just running up and down the shore, playing in the water, digging holes, and sniffing things.  How boring!

When all of a sudden, a Golden Retriever appeared out of nowhere.  After the usual formalities of saying hello, Boba Fett dropped his ball at Dad’s feet and encouraged him to throw it.  Game on!  We had a wonderful time chasing that ball in the surf and sand.  In fact it was the best tennis ball I’ve ever seen, and as you probably guessed I’m a fine connoisseur of tennis balls.  Boba Fett even introduced us to his friends, and soon we were a big pack frolicking on the beach.

Like all good things though, eventually our game of fetch with our new best friend had to come to an end.  Boba Fett, Asa and I were all getting really tired, and decided that it was time to head home.  But as we walked back towards the parking lot, we were greeted by yet another droopy tailed Golden Retriever whose parents forgot his ball.  Boba Fett without hesitation offered his prized possession to this dog.  As we walked away, I paused and looked back to watch our hero once again playing fetch in the water with his newest friend.

I learned a valuable lesson that day about being prepared and paying it forward.  From now on Asa and I are going to pack our own backpack, making sure to include extra tennis balls so that no dog has to face the sadness we briefly endured.  In fact our backpack will consist of treats, tennis balls, treats, tennis balls, treats, tennis balls, poop bags and treats!  Because that’s what being a Golden Retriever is all about!  Thank you Boba Fett!