If you’ve got a sport, Emma is up for it. She loves to jump from one driftwood log to another as fast as she can, catching air as often as she can. She chases waves on the beach, barking at them non-stop, convinced that she will eventually catch one. She particularly enjoys riding fearlessly in the bow of a kayak, like Washington crossing the Delaware. She’s also bilingual (Spanish), which is not technically a sport, but she considers it one.

One of Emma’s favorite pastimes involves an ongoing but friendly battle of wills with the dog next door. One of them starts by strolling into the other dog’s yard, stealing a ball, burying it in their own yard, and walking away. That dog, who is now playing defense, enters the first dog’s yard, digs the ball up, takes it back to their yard, and buries it again. This goes on for several rounds until one of them gets bored. But at the end of every game, the original stolen ball is back in the defensive player’s yard. It’s like pickleball, only quiet.