Body by Jake
Posted on 08/01/2005 8:09:04 AM PDT by tucker93
Early Saturday morning, a golden retriever named Jake made history when he jumped from a boat near Alcatraz into the choppy bay and swam 1.2 miles to the San Francisco shoreline. He was the only dog among more than 500 swimmers who took part in the South End Rowing Club's 10th annual Alcatraz Invitational. Dog-paddling his way toward the front of the pack, Jake came in 72nd overall, leaving some serious swimmers seriously chagrined. His time was 41 minutes and 45 seconds. Reaching the shoreline next to the Hyde Street Pier to chants of "Jake! Jake! Jake!" the 4-year-old canine appeared to take his celebrity in stride. He trotted onto terra firma, evaded a lady trying to put a medal around his neck, and let out a full-body, water-flying shake. He proceeded to roll in the sand and make a quick detour to the nearest grassy area. His tail was wagging. The swim was behind him. A tennis ball was in front of him. Jake made the swim in the frigid waters with his human dad, Jeff Pokonosky. The two live in San Diego and swim 2 miles twice a week. They also bodysurf together, and Jake is known for doing sprints every day -- generally after tennis balls. Before a big swim, Jake eats scrambled eggs. He stands 2-foot-1 and weighs 65 pounds. He has a weakness for carbohydrates, particularly bread. "It was colder and rougher than we thought it would be," Pokonosky said after the race. "Jake amazed me. He was very focused. He started out really fast. I was trying to slow him down. He increased his pace to stay with the pack."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
My wife was upset when she heard that Jake can swim faster than she can! Her new goal is to one day swim faster than Jake.
We had a Golden named Jake when we lived in Prior Lake, MN. He weighed 95 pounds and had a foundness for tissue paper and loved to swim, even in freezing weather.
Our golden used to follow the boat out into the lake whenever anyone picked us up on our dock. We would have to turn around so Buca would go back to the shore and we would have to take him up the steps on the bank and put him in the cottage. He could not be let outside until the boat was out of vision or he would run down the dock, jump in and start swimming.
Looks like Prior Lake Jake !
Nice post. Check out <p>
We have a golden and he is psycho about the water. When we lived in Maine he would jump into the freezing cold spring thaw/rain swollen brook behind out house. All the motivation he needed was a stick to float by and you could not stop him. I spent my life in the water surfing, and was even a pilot rescue swimmer, but the only thing that could have gotten me in that brook was if you shot me and threw me in. It moved BIG rocks when it was going good, but the pooch would just dive right in and get out, sometimes with stick, unscathed. Of course, when he got out after twenty seconds he would be way down the brook.
He's not San Diego Jake, but he does seem to like his water and tennis ball, too.
Jake was the same way. I could pick up a rock and show it to him, then throw it in the water. He could dive down and get the same rock and bring it back to me. An hour of this wouldn't tire him a bit but his eyes did tend to get bloodshot.
Looks like a much heavier dog.
They are amazing dogs.
His time was 41 minutes and 45 seconds.
Our Lab crosses the water in just a few seconds! :)
She hasn't had access to a large enough body of water yet, but she loves water. I plan on building her a pool next year if I can scrape up the money. Or might buy one of the inflatable pools and get dog booties for her to wear.
And he had an appetite for everything. Live fish, Hershey's chocolate (Halloween candy he got into), toilet paper (big bite out of the roll), Kleenex from wife's pocket, any cooked vegetable. He got to be 115 pounds at age 18 months but the vet suggested trimming him back to about 90. He was a big framed, curly coat dog and was a descendant of a dog featured on a Minnesota duck stamp.
Jake came out of the water and quickly went to the nearest humans so he could shake himself dry.
>>Jake came out of the water and quickly went to the nearest humans so he could shake himself dry.
Oh God, ain't that the truth! :) That's why I don't take our dogs to the river when there's a big group of people. She gets dirty, sandy, smelly and soaked, and she begs anyone who'll give her the time of day to throw something into the water. Some people do it just because they think that it'll get rid of her.... then they learn... :)
This is what they are bred for. Pit Bulls defend, spaniels run, retrievers swim and fetch. I have two lab/akita mix 5 month old puppies. They like to do two things. Wrestle, and fetch.
Haven't tried them on the water yet, but won't be surprised if they like it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.