We have had three dogs in my adult life. William the Springer was daft....but he'd shared our boat on the Great Ouse and used to swim alongside us as we moved up or down stream. Early in the morning, still half asleep we would hear a splash. William was having his first dip of the day!
Major the golden was a rescue dog and absolutely refused to swim. He had fallen off our boat whilst still young and had the indignity of being pulled out on the end of a boat hook. After that, even in quiet coastal water he kept one paw safely on the ground.
Crispin the last golden was a wonderful swimmer. He would swim up the local river in Essex until he became a sea swimmer in Cornwall. He accompanied me on all my swims keeping pace no matter how far out I went.
He was taught to dive by the local seals. On the quietest beach during the winter months we were often the only ones there apart from the seals. Crispin, sleek and golden looked rather like a baby seal in the water and they would play with him as he swam. The first time I saw him dive my heart was in my mouth.....I cheered when he resurfaced but this became a regular event as he played quite happily with the seals. If he saw something through the clear blue water he would dive to investigate...
Now he's gone I will have to steal myself to go to that particular beach. The memories are all good ones and it was also a beach much loved by my son.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment