In the midst of a summer fraught with news of killer dogs, San Franciscans these days are happily barking the praises of a heroic and charming cur: Jake, the 4-year-old golden retriever who on Saturday swam from Alcatraz to the mainland, fetching hearts and honors along the seemingly impossible way. Jake, the first canine known to have made the treacherous crosscurrent swim, now joins Bummer and Lazarus, Emperor Norton's dogs, in San Francisco's pantheon of pooches. …
Jake was the sole animal in Saturday's event, the 10th annual Alcatraz-to-San Francisco Invitational Swim sponsored by the vibrant and venerable South End Rowing Club at Aquatic Park. Not for nothing are people around town talking and text-messaging about Jake: Out of the 500 swimmers Saturday, a pool that included Olympic athletes and veterans of the English Channel crossing, Jake finished 72nd with a time of 41 minutes and 45 seconds!
Jake celebrated his record-making accomplishment in typically canine fashion by soaking spectators as he shook his wet coat all around when he emerged from the briny Bay, and then rolling in the nearby grass before accepting pats and a medal for his collar. He is now an American celebrity. He appeared on the "Today" show Tuesday morning and may soon be on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." He's a good dog … with a remarkable story.
Jake was rescued from an animal pound three years ago. Jeff Pokonosky, his guardian, recalls, "I liked him from the start. He seemed intelligent and friendly, if a little guarded at first. After all, he was in a pound.
"I hadn't chosen him to train for ocean swimming," says Jeff, who swam with Jake on Saturday. "But I thought that like most golden retrievers he might like the water. And I noticed he had webbed feet. … So we started going in the ocean.
"His hind legs weren't strong and he seemed to be struggling. But he liked fetching tennis balls in the water. So we did that … and when his leg muscles built up, he really got into swimming." His stroke is nothing esoteric. Jake conquers the seas simply by doing the dog paddle.
He follows an athlete's diet. Saturday before the race, he had his typical before-swim meal: four scrambled eggs (sent up by room service at the Hyatt Embarcadero). After the race he ate lots of whole-wheat bread. "He likes carbs after a big swim," Jeff says. "Generally through the week, he eats rice, broccoli and cottage cheese, along with dog food. The eggs, which he loves, give him a beautiful coat."
He follows a training program. Jake is 2 feet and 1 inch tall and weighs 65 pounds. Twice a week he goes for a two-mile swim in the ocean, and five days a week he works on leg training for an hour. He also fetches tennis balls daily for as long as he wants. But he wasn't trained to be a racer.
That's in keeping with the South End Rowing Club's Alcatraz-to-San Francisco swim. "It isn't really a race," notes club President Bill Wygant, who has swum the course 30 times. "It's not a competition. We feel that's a victory for anyone to complete a swim from the island to The City."
Indeed, when Jake and Jeff (they always swim in tandem) jumped off Alcatraz on Saturday morning, they did so a few moments ahead of the Olympians and other top swimmers. "The water was colder and the current rougher than I thought it would be," Pokonosky recalls, "so I was concerned about Jake.
"Then, after we were in the water for a few minutes, the Olympians began to swim past us. Jake decided it was a game, and he wasn't about to be left behind. He took off!" Jeff had to slow him down. "After all, he had no idea how long the race would be," Jeff says, "but the spirit of this dog, who came from a pound, always astonishes me."
Jake has fans across the world who were able to keep up with him via text messages. Pokonosky runs a company, WiggleWireless, that sends text messages to mobile phone users from sporting and other events. "I came to San Francisco for the marathon," he says. "WiggleWireless was sending info on runners to subscribers around the world. We decided to include Jake's swim as well." Pokonosky donated proceeds to San Francisco's Guide Dogs for the Blind.
And how is Jake? Tuesday afternoon he was at the veterinarian's. It has nothing to do with his grueling swim from Alcatraz, or the stresses of his new celebrity. Jake remains a well-grounded dog. … Roaming around at home, sniffing flowers, he was stung on the snout by a bee. A dog's life. …
Tip off P.J. at (415) 359-2649. E-mail to pjcorkery@examiner.com.
All P J Corkery stories:
Bow-wow in the Bay
In the midst of a summer fraught with news of killer dogs, San Franciscans these days are happily barking the praises of a heroic and charming cur: Jake, the 4-year-old golden retriever who on Saturday swam from Alcatraz to the mainland, fetching hearts and honors along the seemingly impossible way. Jake, the first canine known to have made the treacherous crosscurrent swim, now joins Bummer and Lazarus, Emperor Norton's dogs, in San Francisco's pantheon of pooches. …
