Ball Hound

I had the pleasure of meeting a dog recently who could play cornerback in the NFL, even though his ball of choice is a basketball. This dog, Jack, who lives on a chile pepper farm in Hunterdon County, likes to chase after a kicked basketball--the harder it is kicked, the better--and bring it back, all in the blink of an eye...

As soon as he returns the ball to you, rolling it between his snout and his right front leg, he backs off a few yards, crouches, and waits for you to kick it towards him again.

If, not being used to kicking basketballs, you kick it right at him, so that you are afraid you will bash his nose, well, not to worry. He has a way of tackling the ball, taking the impact on the side of his head and getting a paw over the ball, so that it stops dead, and he then races it back to you.

If you get the ball past him--we're talking about a big dirt expanse here, between and surrounding a set of greenhouses--he goes charging after it, mud and puddles be damned.

His pal, Farley, seen here with him, runs after it too, but even though Farley is bigger, he isn't as fast and can't begin to match Jack for aggression in claiiming that ball as all his.

You'll read about the owner of this farm, who grows the hottest chili peppers in the world, in the May issue of NJM.

Tags: Dogs | photography | farms