John was in good shape. The hikes, along with a mile jog in the mornings and an hour workout after work in the evening had put him in good physical condition. Still, he had no hopes of keeping up with a 3 year old yellow lab. Sensing this, Sarge would seem to look over and his shoulder as he ran and wait for John to catch up. After only a few pauses, they had arrived at the stream. Sarge stood on the bank, barking, spinning and yelping a bit, all the while looking at the other side. "Is he on the other side boy?" John asked, to which Sarge barked frantically. "Well, guess I'm crossing then" John thought to himself. The stream was probably about 20 feet across at this point, and John knew from previous outtings that it rarely got deep enough that he would be in over his head. He dropped the pack he had, figuring he could come back for it once he found Rick. He was already shirtless from the hike, and as much as he didn't want to have wet shorts on the drive home, he figured he should keep those on. He untied his boots and set them aside, then took off his socks. He figured he would need those to be dry once he got to the otherside. Sarge had already charged into the water, and seeing John not immediately following him had come back to shore. He sat watching John, and John laughed at how impatient Rick and Sarge both were. "Ok boy, let's go" John said, stepping into the water.
John walked slowly. The current wasn't strong, but still threated to knock him down. He held his boots above his head out of the water as he walked, determined to keep them dry. By the time he had reached midstream Sarge had already walked up on the opposite bank. He turned, and seeing John's progress, began to bark frantically again. It quickly became all that John could focus on. "Sarge! Be qu.." he began, however his right foot slipped and his knee buckled, submerging his head. It was only momentary, but John was caught off guard and the water that entered his mouth caused him to choke when he got his head above water. "Great," he thought to himself. "I'm probably going to get some disease or something now". After a coughing fit, it dawned on him that he couldn't hear Sarge barking. He looked up and saw Sarge sitting on the bank, tongue hanging out, patiently waiting for John to make it to shore. "Huh" John thought. "Weird dog". It wasn't long before John had walked up on shore. He stood in front of Sarge, he only looked him back in the eye. "Well?" John said, waiting for Sarge to make a move. It was then that the dog turned and looked over his left shoulder and let loose a few quite yips. John looked up to see another full grown yellow lab walk out from the bush he seemed to be using as a hiding place. "What the hell...?" John stammered. The second lab sat next to Sarge as they began to lick each other's faces. John was so shocked by the appearance of another lab and Sarge's sudden change in attitude, he didn't notice the yellow hairs quickly growing from his skin.