BiJae was nearly six months old. We were living in Southern Oregon, near the Rouge Valley. It was early fall and I had a couple days off from work. I decided that BiJae and I would go to the coast for some fishing. I also wanted to spend some time near the Pacific as it helps remove all the stress from me. There is something incredibly calming and peaceful about waves crashing on the shore. As they crash in and rush up the sand, they almost reach in side of you. As they retreat to the ocean some how that rolling sound draws the stress out of you. Being on the Oregon Coast is one of my favorite places to be.

We loaded up the truck with our camping and fishing gear. From very early on BiJae learned that the truck was a good thing and meant we were going some where together. He knew that the truck was safe. I drove nearly two hours to get to the coast. BiJae was an excellent passenger. He would lay across the bench seat, placing his head on my lap. I usually kept one hand on the wheel and the other upon his head, petting him, telling him how much I loved him. This particular day was a cloudy cold fall day. We drove with the music up load as we rolled through the Cascade Mountains and on to the Coast.

Florence is where we first spotted the Ocean. There is something incredible about driving through old growth pine forest to the edge and then seeing nothing but vast blue ocean beyond that. I turned left on the coastal highway, heading south. I drove for close to another hour til I found a spot that looked like a good place to be. It was a small secluded beach near Whale's Head. BiJae stood up as I brought the truck to a stop. I set the emergency brake and then opend the door. With a quick glance BiJae knew it was okay to get out. We headed down the steep trail to the water.

BiJae was many things in his life.. The one thing he loved the most was his hunting. He was a stalker and a hunter. He was pretty daft at it too! We set foot on the beach and he spotted some birds. They were gulls, nothing too spectacular. But they were in his radar range. He was on target and locked in. He lowered his body to half it's normal height and began the stalk. Slowly he moved, his ears locked on target, only turning back briefly to see if I had instructions for him. He drew closer ever so slowly. The birds didn't notice he was there, or if they did, they paid him no mind. Once he was close enough he bolted charging at the birds hoping to catch one.

As luck would have it all the birds were able to fly. And they chose the best escape route, right out over the water. As they took flight, they didn't seek altitude... the were barely two feet off the ground. BiJae was at a full run after them. They flew out over the water. If by magic, they flew out over the water, pulling the last wave out with them. This gave BiJae more room for the chase. He was in hot pursuit, confident he was gaining on them. That's when the laws of gravity and nature took affect. With each wave going out, there's another right behind it waiting to come in... BiJae was blindsided by this natural phenomenom, burried by the next passing wave, just inches from the last bird in the group. I could almost hear the birds laughing at the dog that just got swamped by a wave.

BiJae surfaced, swimming until he could touch ground again. He walked out of the wave as it was retreating. He stopped to shake off the water from his coat. Then he spotted me and my big grin. "AAaarrrooooooo!" He said! I'm pretty sure it translated to, "What the hell happened?" So I sat down with him and explained about waves...