Dog Paddle

I went to a fundraiser for the dog parks today. I've seen/heard of a few places doing this sort of thing, the day before they pull the plug on the pools, people bring their dogs for a swim and gunk up the water. My apartment complex I lived in 2 years ago did this, but I was out of town when it happened and also, I didn't have a dog then. So I figured, hey, let's say goodbye to summer (though I never really got a summer because of classes) and go paddling Bailey!

I managed to score rock star parking, but there was a drama leading up to it. Long story short: it involved a small parking lot, people blocking me in, douche-ary and death glares (me shooting them). However, I was severely less pissed at the blocker-inners once I scored a rock star spot.

Besides that little melodrama, it was absolute pandemonium in the pool. Lots of happy wet dogs, lots of people, and lots of tennis balls and frisbees being tossed around (I got pelted in the kidney with a tennis ball. I know it was an accident, and I don't know who lobed that thing, but that f*cker hurt!).

Anyway, Bailey and the pool...not so much. I had to coax (drag) her out into water past her (bionic) knees. She really took to leaping through the water like a gazelle, but she didn't want to swim. Once I scooped her up and dropped her in the water a little deeper then she could stand. As soon as her feet touched the water, she started paddling, but she paddled to where her feet touched and bolted out. She fell in face first once due to the combination of her overall spaz tendencies and the overall slipperiness of the pool ledge. And then swam strait for the pool steps and climbed out. I was too busy squealing (laughing) at how cute it was to do much of anything else. So she's got the swimming instinct, but she doesn't want to use it. What she really wanted to do was run and chase other dogs along the side of the pool, but if they jumped in the water she stopped. So most of the time she stayed at the edge and barked her head off while wagging her tail.

I don't have pictures because well, I never take pictures first off. And also, it was hard enough keeping an eye on her, trying to do that, take pictures, and not get the digital camera wet at the same time is way too much to deal with. There was a really cute moment between us though that I do wish I had a picture of. I was up to my knees in the water and she was looking around. And I don't know what possessed her, but she "stood" up and placed her front paws on my stomach stretched up and gave me lots of kisses while I hugged her back. And yes, it's even cuter than it sounds.

But most of the dogs were having a blast in the water. I was hoping Bailey would take to the water just for the cute factor. But even though she didn't swim, she wore herself out and she not spazing at the moment. Maybe if we had started her swimming as a puppy, or if there were no other dogs around to distract her she might have been a little more pool adventurous. Or, perhaps it's because her ancestors chased lions across the desert and that why she's not so much on the swimming thing.