This is Erin with Ronin, our beloved Great Dane who is gone but never forgotten. About 2012.
His mouth was big enough to get around a volleyball. We let him keep the ball as a toy. It was a prized possession and Ronin treated it gingerly (our current pack would have ripped it to shreds).
The volleyball was from our days playing in a bar league, circa 2003. The venue was an outside sand court at ‘Bout Time bar.
Our team name was “Volley of the Dolls” or simply “the Dolls” for short. Most of us on the team also sang in the Capital City Men’s Chorus (had a bass, baris, and a tenor). We had the distinction of not winning a single volleyball game in two seasons.
But the bar loved us (drank plenty of booze) and as the ultimate underdogs, the Dolls were crowd favorites. We even broke into song once during a time out as a way to rally.