On the beach at Longniddry today. Sun burning eyes out. Temperature about 24C. Tide in. No waves. Pointy nose is swimming her little heart out. Coming towards us is a family group. Dad - bit chave like with baseball cap wrong way round and tattoos, chubby mum unsuitably dressed for beach. Kid about 4 or 5 years old. Also, on a lead, a black labrador boy about a year old. Interested in the water but leashed in by bloke. As they neared, I said that the dog should be in the water. "Nah. He canna swim". I explained that all dogs swim and his dog could prove it there and then.
Asked if the dog retrieved and was told he brought balls back but "they didn't have a ball with them" (What did they think they were at the beach for?). I said we could use a stick. Bloke was worried that dog might get splinters in his mouth! I resolved that issue and got the dog playing with the stick. Then suggested that dog be taken off lead and we try the water. "Oh. He might run away" Explained that when the dog knew what swimming was, they would never get it to go away from them.
Stick into water just out of dog's reach. Walked in well and floated with dog paddle. Reached stick and brought it back. On dry land, dog went mad jumping about. After that, every stick a winner.
My good deed for the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment