So Who's Afraid of a LIttle Dump?

My Foxy Lady III wasn't all that impressed with the swimming pool when she moved to Florida. She had never seen a pool before moving to Florida.   Yet she would often lie on the lanai for hours, just staring at the water as the skimmer moved it around the pool. It seemed to fascinate her. Or, she'd toss a ball or two into the pool and just watch them as they circled the pool.


I bought her a "boat" float and she enjoyed when I acted the part of a tugboat, pulling her around the pool safely within the boat.


Lady also  had a habit of tossing some of her toys into the pool, then rushing to the other end to rescue them from certain drowning. Sometimes she fell into the pool in the process. Funny moments!

Above: Rescuing her teddy bear from certain drowning.

Yet, when I decided to relax for a bit on MY float, Lady would follow me around the pool as the water flow took me in circles, and she would paw and scratch at the edge of the pool, begging to join me atop the float.

"Take me for a ride, please?"

If I didn't notice her, or if I ignored her, she sometimes took the initiative and as my float got closer to the edge of the pool, she'd simply step on my chest and enjoy the ride.

She was normally quite steady and she'd proceed to give me loads of kisses and sometimes settle, lying down on my stomach. She was a small dog and it wasn't a burden.

But there were times when she couldn't contain her excitement and she'd lose her balance, fall into the pool and start doggie-paddling toward the steps. Then she'd shake the excess water off and lie down in the sun to dry.

Other times, as shown below, she got over-excited for some reason lost her balance, dumping both of us into the pool.

Depending on where we were in the pool, sometimes I'd need to guide her toward the steps or downright rescue her. After her ritual of shaking and drying, she'd often return inside the house as if saying, "Screw this! I didn't need that dump!" and retire to her bed, looking every bit the angel-pup that she is today.

When I look at Lady's pictures (and I have thousands of them), it brings back such wonderful memories ... bittersweet moments that can be no more. Yes, although more than six months have passed since I lost her, I miss her terribly.