JULY 2025

Just call me a water baby.  I love the water and I love retrieving.  Most mornings include a trip to the lake.  Before my dip I enjoy helping to feed the fish.  I do this by finding and eating all the morsels dropped by the Mrs as she throws it into the water.  For a second I feel empathy with the fish as they go berserk, so excited by the thought of food.  Back on dry land I suspect she purposely drops bits for me to find on the grassy bank so I don’t try to jump in and wrestle the fish for it.  Then we walk round the lake looking at flora and fauna and I wait patiently while she keeps stopping to take photos.  Eventually we return to a quiet section away from the fish feeding station and again I wait patiently while the Mrs does a search for a suitably sized stick and lobs it into the water for me to retrieve. 

If you’ve seen my blog on the square box thingy you’ll have seen a shot of my spectacular diving technique.   Once launched and the enormous splash fades I lift my head above water checking to see where the stick landed, then I strike out to retrieve it.  With my paws extended I boost the webbing between my toes giving me extra pulling power, snatch it from the surface and swim back to shore.  This is the part where the Mrs will stand well back from me.  All I want to do is give her the stick so she can throw it in again but the more I advance, the more she retreats.  Eventually I give up and drop the stick to do my whole body shimmer shake which rids my coat of most of the excess water giving me a lighter running weight.  I look round to find the Mrs and give her the stick but she is standing well away from the droplet flying zone.  What is it with her and water – she’s exactly the same when it falls from the sky.  Me, I love it, the wetter the better……