As soon as the dog, Chase was his name, touched the grainy sand, he galloped away. Black as a bullet, he raced towards a flock of seagulls who were pillaging nearby trashcans. The gulls scattered; some flew a mere distance away from the dog, while other took refuge over the water. Those were the birds he wanted. Finding no way around the roaring surf, he plunged in. Surfacing between two gulls, he barked. In return, the gulls flapped away, squawking at the disturbance.

The dog emerged from the spray, looking defeated and sheepish, made his way to his master. She had been sitting far from the water; she looked no older than fourteen. Brown hair blew back from her face. Reaching down to pet him, she pulled back, realizing he was soaked. Shaking his body sent water droplets cascading everywhere; the sand was now pockmarked with water. The girl shook her head and smiled. Retrieving a neon yellow ball, she threw it far down the beach.

The dog responded within seconds and became a blur. His shadow racing to catch up to him, the dog stopped suddenly and turned around to show his master the ball. Trotting back to her, he dropped the ball at her feet, urging her to throw it into the oncoming tide of waves. Picking the ball up, she cringed at the slobber that coated it. Throwing it, the dog started to run. It bounced once, and rolled into the ocean. Bounding after the ball, he disappeared for a moment but was soon out of the water, ball in his possession. The girl called his name, and the dog jumped on her, covering her in water.

She clipped his leash to his collar, the tags clanging against one another, and they made their way to the boardwalk, the sunset watching their backs.