Last Drop of Water...This Week

Linus turned 1 year old on July 13th.  Until a month ago, boy didn't like water.  Matter of fact he was scared of it.  Sad for a Chesapeake Bay Retriever!

A month ago we introduced him to the wading pool.  He refused to go in it.  That is until I started tossing little Milk Bones into it.  Then he got so he'd actually put his face in the water after them.  (I remember the first time Mini-Me finally put HER face in the water in swim lessons.  I couldn't have been more proud!  Well, that's how it was with Linus.)  What cranked the cute factor up about 3 notches was that he'd dig at the water trying to "dig up" more Milk Bones!  What a dog.

So, tonight, Mr LKP & I found ourself kidless (Mini-Me stayed the night at Grandma's).  So we laid down the seats, & packed the rig up with two mangy mongrels and headed to the mighty Columbia River....literally, less than a mile down the road is all we went.  We could have just crossed the highway from our house, but then we'd have had to cross train tracks too, and I don't know what else.  So we chose a safer, surer alternative.

At first Linus didn't know what to do.  He panicked cause the stick we tossed in was, what he thought, just out of reach.  Then he watched Hula effortlessly swim out, snag the stick, and cruise back in.  Linus tried in on for size.  A couple times Mr LKP thought he's have to go in after Linus, since the pup hadn't gotten the idea that he needed to lean forward as he paddled in order to move forward.  Instead the ol' boy just paddled straight up & down....kinda like a pencil bobber....with ears & a tail!  Finally Linus got the hang of it, and he thought he OWNED the Columbia...yep, all to himself, and he didn't want to share with some fishermen on the otherside of the cove from us!  Ha ha.  What a fun night.  Definitely down in the history books, since Mr LKP's figuring on Linus becoming one of the Dock-Jumping Champions of the world now!