Geniale hond speelt met voorbijgangers bij zijn tuin

De baasjes van de hond zeggen dat hij hier de hele dag mee door kan gaan en het hem nooit verveeld: "I cannot remember when Ash first started playing ball with passers-by, but it initially started when the ball would roll out due to slightly uneven ground. Ash soon figured out that if the ball went out people would throw it back to him. Ash learned to kick the ball out so that people would throw it back to him. He was playing catch regularly by the time he was two years old."

Ash speelt wel alleen wanneer hij in de stemming is en als hij de bal buiten het hek trapt en er niemand is om 'm terug te gooien, houdt 'ie de bal scherp in de gaten en wacht net zo lang tot er iemand komt. "As soon as we get up in the morning Ash runs to the front door waiting for us to let him out. If we’ve been out, Ash will push past us to get outside when we come back home. Ash can come inside whenever he wants to, we have two doors, the outer one is open all the time when he is out. If it is colder we will shut the inner one but Ash will bang on it with his paw when he wants to come in; it’s his favourite place", zegt de baas van Ash.

Volgens haar lukt het Ash niet altijd om de mensen voor zich te winnen en een potje met hem te spelen: "Occasionally people do not realise that the ball belongs to Ash and will pick it up for their dog or will kick it down the street. When this happens he will usually try to watch it in hope that he will get it back. Luckily we usually have some spares, we write his name on them and Ash gets a new ball. When people think he has lost the ball accidentally, they throw the ball back then walk on along the street. Usually they will look back in time to see him push it back out. Then there’s usually an exclamation of ‘he’s doing it on purpose’ and then they will play with him for a little while. I’ve seen children fight over whose turn it is to throw the ball next and others cry because they wanted to stay and play instead of going to the beach. We hear a lot of laughter outside our house. Adults and children all love to play with him. Ash is a funny dog; as my sister put it, ‘A bundle of fluff with an abundance of quirks’." Geniale hond dit.