By Charlie Andrews
He strode to the fore
And took his stance
He blew the whistle —
That the two shared —
We couldn’t hear it — but
She could
And she froze in place
And looked at her master
And started the chase
“Back,” he signalled
She spun to her left
Looked at his arm
And began her run
The search was underway
She was hunting his prize
Working hard to please his eyes
Her legs went as fast as they could
She knew that he would know
She ran straight to the fence row
The whistle blew — She froze —
Locked him in sight
Back he yelled —
Then he threw right
She knew her master
Had confidence in her —
The first fence row
Was on high ground
A weak spot —
A hole she could get through
A pole she could go around
Through all she dove
Into the ditch — knowing
That her master would be proud
Of how she traveled the ground
Wet and winded
She scrambled uphill
To the next fencerow
When she heard the
Whistle shrill —
She locked her legs still
She looked for a sign
His arm was her command
She did it for the man
She ran and she ran
The bird was wounded
From a passing volley of shots
But true to its toughness
It wavered not
Until effort and pain
Finally took its toll
And onto the field
The bird hit the ground — in a fold
We watched it go down
But could barely see
The small black speck
On the snow-covered ground
He whistled again
And she stopped and stayed
Until left he threw left and she
Sprinted that way
She winded the bird
And could now understand
Why she was working
So hard for the man
She mouthed it
And tasted success
Bringing it to him was
Her task at hand next
With her mouth full of bird
We watched her trot back
Only pausing to get
On her prize a new grip
She continued her path
On the return trip
Through the fencerows —
Across the ditch
To her master so proud
Through the cut corn
She stumbled and strode
Straight to the man
To get her reward
A pat on the head
A rub of her ears
Two hands on her flanks
Kind words of praise
“Good Girl” “Thanks”
Was all that she needed
Expected or wanted
“Kennel,” he said
And she did —
The above is a GPS-verified, 945-yard retrieve of a Canada goose by 18-month-old Black Labrador Nova, as told by Charlie Andrews, in verse. Charlie Andrews and Nova were hunting with Bill Berger, Joe Schulte, and Joey Schulte using Luke Sherders, guide and owner of Wing Feather Outfitters back in November 2018.