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Duck hunting allows plenty of time for reflection. On some fast action hunts, my retrievers are happy. Other days, the early flurry of ducks flying at sunrise are quickly replaced with empty skies. Usually, the dogs will snooze while I wonder what they are thinking. 

I doubt a dog cares about his age. If I was a duck retriever, I’d care about the amount of sunrises I saw versus the amount of years I’ve lived. I could imagine Hank, our older yellow lab, 

thinking about the things he has learned during sunrises. 

For the past decade Hank and I have walked while the sun rose behind our house. The mile long trail is a black tunnel in the pre-dawn darkness. Any new log, traffic cone, or plastic toy made the hackles on Hank’s back rise when he made out their outline. On the return trip, the sunrise revealed the innocent nature of those items and Hank gave them a pardon. Life is not as scary once the sunrises. 

In Louisiana, Hank retrieved six geese before the hunters could even take a sip of coffee. Our Cajun guide seemed impressed enough with Hank 

that he put down his cigarette to watch the yellow dog retrieve the birds in the morning fog before the rays burned it out. I’d tell you what the guide said but my mom may read this column. 

While sometimes sunrises bring comfort and fun, others can give you surprises. One of Hank’s first duck hunts involved retrieving ducks that were taken while flying fast overhead. These birds 

would fall behind us. It seems simple enough, but a retriever is normally trained with dummies thrown in front of the dog. Seeing Hank figure out that he could retrieve birds from in front and behind him made him so excited. His big yellow head tried to do his best owl imitation as he visualized 360 degrees while sitting during the hunt. 

Finally, sunrise can mean relief. After a long swim through a beaver swamp, Hank would sit on his dog stand while we placed decoys. Both hunters and dogs felt the chill as we waited for the 

birds to fly and the sun to rise. Sometimes, our shivers would be in unison causing ripples across the calm open water. As the sun rose, so would our core temperatures giving us relief 

from the cold. 

Last Tuesday I took Hank out before work. The smoke and ash from the forest fires in the atmosphere played with the first beams of dawn magnificently. The reds, oranges, and yellows 

were reminiscent of all the sunrises I experienced with Hank. 

Hank tried to walk but laid down in the side yard. The sunrise reflected in his big brown eyes as he breathed shallow. He was cherishing his last sunrise. This one brought relief from pain after 14 years on this earth. It may have only been 14 years, but there were thousands of sunrises.