I’m not a big fan of hunters or hunting or pretty much anything going on in this story. But it makes an interesting point so I thought I’d overcome my own negative attitude and share it.

There was a duck hunter who was looking for a new bird dog – a dog that would fetch the duck after it was shot. He went to several breeders but couldn’t find a dog he liked. Someone told him about a very special breeder who was said to be able to work miracles with his dogs. The hunter went to see him and examined his animals. The dogs were adequate, but the hunter didn’t see anything exceptional.

It’s true the dogs were sharp and keen. They jumped fearlessly into the water on command and swam over to the practice duck without hesitation. Some swam very fast and handled the duck with care. Some sensed the command to fetch before it was even given and threw themselves into the water swimming like otters.

“But,” said the hunter, “so what? All dogs can swim. I’m here because you’re supposed to have something special.”

The breeder shook his head and while pointing to a bright looking dog sitting off to the side he said, “Mister, you seem like a man of discerning taste so I’m going to offer you a one in a million dog.”

“What’s so great about him?” the man asked.

“Just watch.”

The breeder waved his hand and pointed to the practice duck. The dog instantly jumped to his feet and flung himself towards the water. But rather than swimming, he actually started running on top of the water. He reached the duck, retrieved it and brought it to the breeder, his paws barely even damp.

“That’s amazing,” the hunter said. “I’ll take him!”

“You won’t regret it,” said the breeder. “That dog is a miracle.”

The man spent some time alone with the dog, getting to know him, and grew ever more impressed with his incredible skills. But he was eager to show the dog off to his friends, as well. So before too long he called a few buddies over to go hunting with him.

After some time, they shot a few ducks and the hunter ordered his dog to run and fetch the birds. All day-long, the dog ran on water and kept fetching the birds. The man was expecting a compliment or at least a comment about his amazing dog, but never got one. As they were returning home at the end of the day, he asked his friends if, perhaps, they had noticed anything unusual about his dog.

“Yeah,” one of them replied. ”Your dog can’t swim.”

Some people will always miss the miracle.