It was no secret that when he wasn’t saving the planet from UFOs, Chuck Billy liked to unwind by playing fetch. In fact, he considered himself to be a fetch aficionado, and could often be heard barking his favorite motto, “Fetch Is Life!” Therefore, as I continue the countdown to what would have been Angel Chuck Billy’s 13th birthday, today I am celebrating the evolution of Chuck Billy’s obsession with the game of fetch, and with one type of ball in particular.

Now one could assume a natural athlete such as Chuck Billy, that he’d instantly know how to play fetch. But that is not true! It took a special visit from our neighbor Milo to teach him what became his favorite game. Lemmy was not a fan of fetch. Instead his preferred game was “Har! Har! I have the ball and you don’t.” A game that although was fun for Lemmy, it got boring really quickly for puppy Chuck Billy, who ended up chasing him around the yard. That is until one fateful day when Mom threw the ball, and Milo rocketed out of nowhere, to catch it before Lemmy. Rather than run with reckless abandon with the ball, Milo trotted over to Mom and dropped it at her feet. According to Chuck Billy, Mom petted Milo on the head. Praised him for being a “good boy,” which were words she rarely said during Lemmy’s version of the game. Then Mom threw the ball again! That’s when Chuck Billy made the amazing realization that fetch didn’t have to end after one toss of the ball. Fetch could go on and on for hours as long as the ball was returned to Mom! Better yet, sometimes Milo would let Lemmy or Chuck Billy get the ball too. This was a real game changer! From that point forward, Chuck Billy was determined to play by Milo’s rules!

It wasn’t until a couple years later when I joined the family, that Chuck Billy took his obsession with the game to a new level with the introduction of the bacon scented squeaky ball. The first bacon scented squeaky ball was a gift to me from my Babci and Pepere for my first birthday in November 2015. But being too “cool” to play with a puppy’s toy, Chuck Billy ignored it! However no one, not even Chuck Billy, can resist the ear piercing squeak, its soft rubbery texture, and its tantalizing bacon smell. By the spring of 2016, Chuck Billy was refusing to play fetch with any other type of ball. And trust me, Mom and Dad tried, since the squeak can get a bit much after repeated rounds of fetch!

So there you have it! The evolution of Chuck Billy’s obsession with fetch!