Water Dog

Wilbur has tried his whole life to be a water dog, but he just never succeeds.  As soon as the water goes over his head he panics.  I have tried to give him swimming lessons, but he just flounders every time I let him go until he can find me and climb up on me.  Still he dreams of one day being a water dog and pushes himself further and further every day.

When we lived at the beach he would stand at the edge of the water until all the water would be sucked out and then he would take off into the ocean running out as far as he could until a wave would come.  He would then turn around and try and out run the wave.  He didn’t always succeed in out running the wave, and would be tumbled around until he landed in the sand.

Now that we have moved in land Wilbur has a river and a lake to play in.  I thought with his golden retriever and lab buddy he would be in the water every day.  He hasn’t been in the water once even though the three of them head to the river at least once a day.

I decided last week that I would take him with me fishing.  There is a lake on our property and it was a beautiful evening.  I figured since the water was chilly and he hadn’t been trying to swim it would be no problem fishing with him.

At first he just watched on the edge of the bank to see what was going to happen, but after they caught the first fish the threw it back he started pacing the the shore.  I could tell that he wanted a fish.  Earlier in the day we had observed the duck hunter’s dogs retrieving ducks for their owners and I could tell there was a part of him that thought this was what he was suppose to do.  He was suppose to get a fish and bring them back to us.

It didn’t take long before Wilbur set off on his mission to be a water dog and to get a fish.  He jumped into the water whole-heartily.  Splashing desperately to where the fish had sank, but then he could no longer reach the bottom.  He panicked for a second and turned around.

But then he tried again swimming out and desperately looking for the lost fish.  I didn’t want him to fail, so I scrambled to the car where I found one of his raw hide bones.  I threw it in the water near him and he grabbed it.  He swam back ashore and ran around with his prize.  I called him over and he handed over the bone.  Everyone who was there looked at me as though I lost mind.  I then explained “there is enough tragedy and pain in the this world.  There should be more triumph and love even if it’s a little silly.”

The Fog

Sometimes it is is easy for life to feel like an endless wasteland of mundane motions.  Repetitive steps and touches that make us all feel normal… comfortable.  It is hard to find our way out of the comfort zone.  Once we are there it seems to be all we have ever known and even the slightest deviation can sometimes feel as if our whole world is toppling around us.

There is a fog around us all blocking the beauty of the unknown.  Sometimes we receive bright glimpses, but they vanish into the darkness just as quickly as they came and it leaves us confused.  I am no longer afraid of these dark unknown places, but rather see them as the adventure that is waiting for me on the other side of the fog.  The adventure that has always been waiting for me.

 

Rain Rain Go Away

Day 3 of rain and we are completely over it.  Wilbur who normally sleeps in, in the mornings; woke up this morning excited, butt wagging ready to head to work.  As soon as he arrived at the door and realized it was still raining he stopped, looked at me with this desperate sad expression and then hung his head low.  

I had to plead with him and then bribe him to come to the car.  Once we arrived at the shop he refused to leave the car. A little growl and a very intense look told me he was serious about staying in the car.  I blasted the heat for a few minutes so that it would be warm for him and then headed into work.  An hour later I went out to check on him.  He was curled up  in a tight ball in the back seat and still refusing to leave the car.  I moved the car over to be next to the door so that he would not have to get wet when he got out of the car.  He still refused to leave.  I covered him up with my jacket and headed back to work.

I know the rain makes me depressed.  I need my sunshine.  I don’t use alarm clocks to wake up in the morning.  As soon as there is light coming through the window I am awake and ready to go.  I prefer to be outside in the sun all day.  Wilbur is the same way.  He will spend his whole day outside sunbathing no matter how humid it is outside.  So, I don’t know why it surprised me that he depressed.  He is the one who is always cheering me up when I am feeling down; I guess I just never think that he can feel down too.  It is my turn to try and cheer him, but with all the rain I think it would just be best if we curl up on the couch together under a warm blanket and put a movie on.  We will keep each other warm as the temperatures drop below freezing.  Hopefully we will wake up tomorrow to a white world, and we can both run a play like we don’t have a care in world.