In October of 2005 our daughter Lisa was getting married. In Florida. We made the decision to drive. So about a week before the wedding, Chet, Sampson and I packed up and headed for the sunshine state.
I had searched the internet and found a vacation home in the area where dogs were allowed. The house had a pool and we were looking forward to a little R & R in the midst of the wedding celebration. As luck would have it, the owners of the house also owned the house next door, so my sister and my mom rented it.
As soon as got to the house, I put my suit on and jumped into the pool. Unfortunately we hadn’t prepared Sampson. Sampson had only ever been in a lake, where you walked in and slowly the water got deeper. Poor Sampson, he took one step and BOOM he was in over his head. I don’t want to use the term FREAKED OUT because he didn’t flail and flomp, but it did scare him and it took him a few more days before he could be coaxed back in. We did show him the steps, and he did sometimes lay in the water, but mostly he stayed on a lounge chair.
The pool area had a bar, the day our future son-in-law arrived, Chet and Steve went out to The Home Depot and purchased some styrofoam which they used to line the outdoor sink, so they could keep the beer cold. Chet, Steve and Sampson as well as a host of various guests spent a LOT of time outside at the pool/bar.
The ladies (Lisa, Lynn and myself) spent a LOT of time with the wedding preparations. One day while we were out of the house, my brother-in-law got Sampson into the pool. After that, he would go in the pool if someone was in there with him.
We did try to get him on one of the pool floaties, but how do you explain balancing yourself to a dog? We had also brought a bright orange retrieving toy, which we would throw in the pool. He loves playing fetch with that toy, but he was so fast I couldn’t get a picture of him with it.
Most of the time Sampson just enjoyed laying outside in the warm Florida sunshine. But one day toward the end of our stay, Chet was down on the dock fishing when he heard a splash in the pool. When he went to investigate he found Sampson taking a cooling off swim.
It’s a dog’s life.
Nautica has a little pink doggie life jacket because she sinks. We acutally named her Nautica hoping she would life the water…not so much
Awwww, does she go in at all? Sampson really just likes to lay in the water. Delilah loves to swim!
Ah to live the life of well loved pup! Seems to have mastered one of the better ways to spend a day! : )
Yes, my mother frequently states she would like to ‘come back’ as one of my dogs! LOL