66 - wednesday

buddy had a busy day yesterday.

I don't know if you recall my post from this time last year, but this dog has extreme hydrophobia. he fell in the pool as a puppy and almost drowned. even now, at 11 years old, he still avoids the water. every summer we try to lure him into the pool, and he ends up hiding under the furniture for a week.

yesterday he smelled really, really bad, so I gave him a bath. I bought puppy shampoo for him a week or so ago. because he has hair, not fur, his skin is super sensitive to whatever shampoo we use. I am convinced that human shampoo burns his scalp, so I figured I'd give puppy shampoo (with oatmeal!) a shot. success. he didn't shake, he didn't cry, he didn't try to get out of the tub. he just let me wash him (we won't go into how black and nasty the suds were when I rinsed him off). he even gave me a big kiss when we were done.

a few hours later, I was sitting by the pool with my mom and sister, and the dog was outside with us. he loves summer. he loves to lie on the brick patio, all four paws in the air, basking in the sunshine immodestly. my mom picked him up and put him on the top step of the pool, just enough so his paws were submerged. he seemed to enjoy it; he didn't try to jump out or cower under the furniture. so I picked him up, walked him across the shallow end, and held him under his belly while he swam back to my mom on the steps. we did seven laps of the pool. he could not get enough of it. he was wagging his tail the whole time, so happy to be in the cool water.

when we started packing up the convertible to head to the beach for my mom's birthday clamcake & chowder picnic, we decided to bring the dog. he had already had a big day, so why not? I wrapped him up in a big blanket and we hunkered down in the backseat out of the wind for the drive to the beach. he's usually a fidgety little guy in the car, but last night, no complaints. he just lay in my lap, content to be warm and with his humans. when we finally got our food and got to the beach, my mom suggested letting him off the leash and bringing him down to the water (lured by clamcakes....). he spent the next half hour alternating between sprinting across the soft sand from our blanket to the water's edge, splashing in the surf, and then sprinting back. he was in doggy heaven.

all this from a dog who HATES water and spends all his days basking lazily in the sunshine. I don't know if he's ever been so active in one day, nevermind so excited about playing in the water. very strange.

and look how tired he is today! right back to his old ways. though if I went from a lifetime of laziness to the most active day I've ever had, I'd be pretty tuckered out, too.