Hey guys, it’s me! Stevie Wonder!
I’m still pretty drowsy and icky from my spay surgery yesterday, but I promised I would tell you about my swimming on the vacation I took my foster parents on over July 4 weekend, so here I am! If you missed the first part of our adventure, you can read about it here.
So. The swimming. Mom and dad weren’t so sure that I would be a good swimmer and I know I can get a little scared in new places, so they thought it would be best if I had a swimming jacket to keep me nice and cozy and safe. I think they were worried about me trying to jump out of the boat when it started to go vroom vroom and drive fast as the wind, but I just wanted to lay on the bottom wrapped around mom’s legs. That’s the safest place to be, after all. Anyhow, I love my swimming jacket! I can swim without it too, but I’m so skinny that sometimes my back half kind of sinks, and it makes it a lot harder. So I just kept it on!
First I started out by just deathing some sticks on shore. They seemed very threatening and I wanted to keep my mom and dad safe, since they are so nice and they don’t seem to understand the danger of sticks. Here’s a picture of me deathing one. Death to stick!!
But then my dad — he’s so silly — picked up another dangerous stick! I was so worried that he was going to get bitten by it, so I knew that I had to death that one too. Here I am trying to death the one that he was holding, silly dad:
So THEN, things got even crazier. Dad took the rogue stick, and threw it straight into the water! I couldn’t believe it! So what was a girl to do? I had to go get the stick and death it once and for all, so that it couldn’t hurt me or my people. And so without any hesitation, like the brave hero that I am, I bounded into the water after the stick, like this:
Well it sure was risky going out into that water after the stick, but it payed off. Turns out the stick didn’t want to hurt us after all, it just wanted to play! And it also turns out that I am a most bodacious swimmer! Here’s a video of me swimming:
After I took a little catnap I got to swim again, only this time, a tennis ball was playing with me. I gotta tell you, that tennis ball sure can fly, but once it gets into the water it is SO lazy. I caught it every time. It’s almost like it didn’t even try to get away!
And after all that swimming and swimming and swimming, I was dog-gone pooped!
So now you know the whole story!
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
It looks like you all had a ball… are you gonna be able to give this girl up? Looks like you are pretty attached. 😉 Is that lake always that choppy? Kudos to Stevie for swimming AND managing the waves.
And I have not forgotten your question about local swimming places. My dog hiking book fell on my foot the other day to remind me, I just need to find time to look through it and see what would be near you.
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
It will be hard to give her up, just like it always is. If she and Chick turn out to be good friends, it will be even harder. But we’ve managed it a bunch of times already, so hopefully we will smoothly hand her off to a perfect family in the next couple of months 🙂
As for the lake: it’s a HUGE lake (40 miles long), so it depends on where you are. Some coves are more protected, some are less. The video was right after a boat went by, too, so it was extra choppy right then.
No rush on the dog swimming spots, but if you find any, do let me know!
How heartwarming to see Stevie enjoying herself so much…and looking out after you as well, with those threatening sticks!
Stevie’s so good at deathing those sticks she could be a stick assassin! Looks like she had a ton of fun in that water 🙂 I’ll bet you had one pretty pooped out pup for the drive back.
We’re going to find out if Heidi is as good of a swimmer as Stevie this weekend. I hope she has as much fun as Stevie in the water!
Stevie, you’re so brave keeping mom & dad safe from those sticks. In our 100 degree weatger here, I’m jealous of all that cool swimming. Glad you’re having fun!
I love that Stevie calls it “deathing” sticks. Maybe that’s what Turk has been calling it all these years and I just didn’t understand him?? They could totally be stick deathing buddies. 🙂
What a great post, she had so much fun! Love the life jacket – where did you get it?
I do think that it helped her feel more secure– both in terms of the hugging/thundershirt type effect and also the way it helps her float better and swim with less effort. We got her this life jacket in a medium. This would probably fit dogs from about 40 to about 65 pounds, though I can’t say for sure. Stevie Wonder is a very leggy 50 pounds. If you look around, you can find a great deal. Ours was $28 with free shipping! http://www.ruffwear.com/Portage-Float-Coat?sc=2&category=694
she does a great impression of a Labrador Retriever! Pitties can do anything they can do better…
I’m glad to see some fetching and deathing to sticks was done on this vacation. It looks like she had such a great time: a regular “Annie” story. As always, love all the photos…especially the third to last close up with the ball swimming. Did you have to get lower down in the water to get that angle?
yep, i was basically squatting in the water while i took these. i also whipped out my big zoom lens, which i hate and almost never use, but is helpful for situations like this. did you guys ever end up buying a new lens, or not yet?
I am so glad to killed all of those sticks, saving your foster parents from potential disaster. You never know what tricks those tree arms can get up to. It’s a good thing you were brave enough to jump in the water.
I am wondering now if a swimming shirt would help my dog also screw up her courage and go swimming. If she finds it easier she may not be so hesitant to go deeper than her belly. Thanks for the great idea!
Oh my goodness. I am so jealous, not only that she got to go swimming but also that she LOVES it. We took Leche up to a dog beach in MD once and it was as though we were torturing her. She even ran away and found a new family, lying w/ them for a bit. But maybe as someone mentioned it, a swim jacket would help?
Stevie looks like she had a blast! I might have to check out a swimming vest as well for my pooch. She can swim, but her face always looks so nervous! Maybe that would give her some security.
Love your swimming hole. Glad you are on the road to recovery
Benny & Lily
Stevie, you are eautiful and amazing!!
I’m thinking the same way Kristine is. I think we’ll bring Honey’s life vest the next time we go swimming. She wears it when we go kayaking but I’ve never tried it just for swimming.
I have a feeling that the extra buoyancy would probably lift her legs off the bottom when she wades out past her belly and maybe get her swimming b4 she knows what she’s doing.
Oh, and I’m also going to have her watch Stevie’s video when she wakes up (Honey loves watching dog videos). It might be just the encouragement she needs!
Ah, such a happy post! I absolutely love seeing foster dogs living the good life! It inspires me to take more pictures and foster more pups. :o)
What amazing photos you always have Aleksandra! I wish I was hslf as good at capturing my pups personalities. Looks like Stevie had an awesome time t the lake! Love the life vest! I wonderbif Koly would be avwaterdog if he had one…
Look at the way her tail wags the whole time she’s coming out of the water! Happy girl.
isn’t she the cutest?
I’d love to take my Tippi swimming … I’m just afraid with her obsession with water she’d drink too much of it.
Morgans don’t like water beyond their little kneecaps. I’ve managed to get Morgan over his fear of elevators, stairs, trucks, and dogs who aren’t altered, but I have not been able to get him over his fear of water. S’okay. I keep telling him it’s his loss!
Oh! About all that oregano? I have a few thoughts:
-It dries beautifully and you’ll be happy for it come winter.
-On top of fish, I add oregano to a panko/chopped parsley/butter/lemon juice topping (put it in a pyrex pan and put that puppy ON THE GRILL on low.)
-I make gallons of ratatouille in late summer (to eat all winter), and I add lots of oregano to that.
Okay – that’s all I’ve got.
Stunning photos, as usual. Sounds like everyone had a blast!
Beautiful! What a brave girl! I’m wondering if you went swimming somewhere here in MD? We are in Montgomery County and Ive always wondered how our two would react to swimming….
No, this was way down in southern Virginia, near Blacksburg. I know there is a dog beach at the Shirlington dog park in VA, and one out on the Chesapeake (though I can’t remember where– you would have to google it). Also, I wonder if dogs are allowed to swim at Cunningham Falls State Park?
Wow this is so amazing! Maybe we’ll get a life jacket for our next adventure into the water with Havi!
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