swimming with dogs

Jake and Winnie Dixon

Another dip in the ocean at the end of a hot sultry summer day. We go to our morning beach - the beach where we walk and fetch sticks every daybreak. The water is incredibly warm, all afternoon the tide has been coming back in over sun baked sandbars and the first few feet of water closest to shore feels like bath water. I always carry a stick when Jake is off leash, the stick becomes my invisible leash, he so wants me to throw it so he can retrieve it. We waded around in the shallow water between two sandbars - the water over my knees and at the dog's chest level. Miss Dixon is so funny as she dutifully follows me and my every twist & turn the look on her face saying I'd rather not be out here but if you insist then (sigh) I must follow you...

Winnie has become even more attentive to me, she's like my little shadow. I've noticed, it seems since Em's been gone that Winnie's much less secure when it comes to me. She really doesn't want to let me out of her sight and my friend Carol suggested that since Em was top dog in this household Winnie lived much more in dog land but now that Em's gone I've become top dog so she must follow me, the leader of our pack every step that I take.

We continue our sloshing around in knee-deep warm water avoiding the occasional jellyfish then I'd sit down in the water, roll over and float on my belly and Jake would try to pull me and his stick to shore with Winnie coming closer so she could give me lots of worried little kisses - like what's up? what's happening? is everything OK? then I'd stand up again, we'd all walk back out to deeper water and then repeat this fun over and over. Had a little walk on the beach, sat and baked and dried off a bit and back down the grass lane to the car.

Heaven.