Abstract
Elvis, a Welsh corgi, has captured the attention of the mathematics community because of his owner's claim that this cute dog knows calculus. In the May 2003 issue of the College Mathematics Journal, Tim Pennings writes that his dog Elvis chooses a path that is “remarkably” close to the optimal path (in terms of time) when a tennis ball is thrown from the water's edge at point A to a point B in the water (Pennings 2003, p. 181). See the figure on sheet 1. Elvis runs along the shore from point A to D and then dives into the water and swims to the ball at point B. Since Elvis can run faster than he can swim, the quickest route to the ball is different from the shortest route to the ball (swimming from A to B). The quickest route to fetch the ball involves a combination of running along the shore and swimming in the water.
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