June 3, 2009

The Unexpected

Last night there was a knock on the door. Our neighbor from a block up the street stood at the door with a dog (not hers) on a leash.

“I figured you were a dog walker and you just might know this dog,” said the neighbor.

“Why yes I do,” Gretchen responded. “That’s Marley.”

Turns out Marley dug (and ate) his way out of his side yard and was wandering the neighborhood. To make a long story short, we’re now walking Marley and today was our first outing.

Marley is a nice guy, but boy does he have energy.  We picked him up before it got too hot (record-breaking temperatures today) and headed down to the lake. He was all excited and peed on anything and everything he could find.  By the time we got to the lake, he was raring to go swimming only it turns out, he didn’t really know how.  I had to give him some lessons.

I’m actually a very good swimmer and with this current heat wave, we’ve been spending a lot of time at the lake so I’m getting lots and lots of practice.

We’re not sure if Marley has ever been to the lake, but he was thrilled to be there today, though he struggled a bit with exactly what to do with all that water.

Where we swim there is a bit of a ledge into the lake. It took me a few times to get the hang of it — stepping down when I couldn’t really see the “down” in the reflection of the water — but now I fly off the step and splash in the water like a pro.

Marley, not so much! He spent the first part of the adventure watching from the shore…and whining. Then he gave it a try…

…hesitantly, I might add!

Gretchen moved him over to the part of the lake that has more of a shore and he went straight in… up to his waist…

He continued to watch me as I swam out for my favorite red toy…but then his excitement got the better of him and soon, Marley was a swimming dog!

Of course, I had to share my toy with him because he liked it more than the tennis ball.

Don’t think this was an easy thing for me to do. You can’t see it, but Gretchen is holding me back while Marley plays with my toy.

Oh the things a working professional must do to earn a little kibble!

Pretty soon, though, Marley had the hang of it and he was having a good time in the water just like I do every day!

We were both tempted, but showed restraint, when feathered friends swam by…they had their children with them after all…

We walked home and by the time we got to Marley’s house, we were both completely dried off. Yes, it’s that hot again today. Unexpected new friend unexpectedly swimming in the unexpected heat of June!

Next, we walked to Monty’s house and took him for a short walk before we all piled into the car. It was too hot to walk to the lake again, so we drove this time. Monty loves the lake as much as I do, but he’s not the best swimmer.  I give him credit though…he really tries.

But once Monty is on shore, he is a wild man, jumping around asking Gretchen to throw the toy again!

Yes, he is playing with my favorite red toy. Why? Well because Gretchen brought my other favorite toy — a tennis ball ring that is bright yellow and floats. She can throw it farther than the red buoy toy so she let me play with that while I let Monty play with my red buoy.

Only…

….it didn’t go as planned.

One of the reasons I like the yellow ring is that I like to chew it up. I guess I chewed it up so much it got a big hole in it. When Gretchen threw it far out into the lake, well, it sank. Meanwhile, she played with Monty and the red buoy unaware of the fate of my yellow ring.

When I didn’t come back, she looked out and saw me swimming and searching, searching and swimming. Yes, I am a bit obsessed and no matter how much she called me, I was determined to find my yellow toy.

Soon, Gretchen knew what she had to do. She took off her shoes, set down the camera, and dove into the water…not to retrieve my toy, but to force me to come in. She brought the red buoy with her hoping to tempt me, but I was a bit reluctant.  I gave up after awhile, grabbed the red buoy in my mouth and headed back to shore.

Guess who was swimming right out there with us, though?

MONTY!

Have I mentioned that he’s not the best swimmer? Well, Gretchen swam next to him on the way back in lifting his back end up every time it sunk down. When we got back to shore, she threw the red buoy a few more times for him, while I rested from my long swim on the shore.

How unexpected was that adventure? Well, let’s just say that Gretchen didn’t have on a swimsuit!

We went for a walk after that so we could all dry off before piling back into the car. Lunch was served at home while Gretchen went to walk Oshi and Perrito. It was a short walk because Perrito has a vet appointment so we’re going to go back this afternoon and pick them up again. We’ll have photos then so stay tuned for an update.

I’m pretty sleepy. I think it’s a combination of 85 degrees and lots of unexpected swimming so I’m going to take a nap.

Stay cool!

Rubin

PS — Gretchen just took Oshi and Perrito out again for a short walk. No photos though. Too hot. Can that be an excuse? Even Perrito, who is game for anything, raced back to the cool of his house. It’s almost 90 degrees. I’m hearing rumors of another lake trip for everyone — humans included! Please oh please?

PSS – Gretchen just cooled Monty down with the hose. I’m having nothing to do with that game!

“Give me the lake or give me nothing!” Pawtrick Henry