Dog antics

This summer, while we were visiting family, the kids spent lots of time in an above-ground pool. One time I joined them. Cyrus loves his mommy (me). He was intended to be R's dog, but adopted me as his favorite person. While I was swimming with the kids, he kept putting his paws up on the ledge of the pool, so he could see me. Every few minutes I said "hi" to him and gave him a few pats. At one point, however, I got into a game with the kids and forgot about the dog. Next thing we knew, he had jumped over the wall, and into the pool. He surfaced one astonished dog. I don't think he had any idea that he was jumping onto anything other than a platform. The kids all went berserk, screaming and squealing. E said something to this effect: "Do dogs even know how to swim?" She was appalled that I was just laughing, and not in the least bit worried about the dog. So, the kids learned how the doggie-paddle got its name. I decided it would be better if I stayed out of the pool for the remainder of our stay. I'm not sure which made a bigger impression on me, the fact that he cleared the pool wall without even touching it, or the expression on his face when he surfaced.

That is one of the many stories from the summer I have been intending to write about. It was brought back to the forefront of my mind by an incident this past week. I took Cyrus to a dog park. It is actually the closest one to our home, but we weren't aware that it had been completed, so it was our first time there. As soon as I opened the gate to let him enter, he bolted, full speed ahead, towards a group of dogs. What he didn't realize was that they were on the other side of a long, narrow pond. As soon as he saw the water, he stomped on the brakes. He almost stopped in time, but ended up sliding down the concrete bank of the pond. Another guy there actually saw the whole thing, and I saw him laughing from across the field. When I caught up with Cyrus, the man said "That was quite an entrance." I'll say!

P.S. You know the park was designed by a woman; the ponds were shaped like dog bones. I really don't think the dogs notice their shape.