Finally Home-Lessons on Life from a Free-Spirited Dog by Elizabeth Parker

the pool to prevent the monstrous scratches they would put on us if we did not.
    To give them something to grip, w e decided to get them Nerf rafts . This worked out rather well, but I’m sure y ou’ve heard about dogs controlling their owners? Th e rafts took that to the next level. Both of o ur dogs would lounge on these with expectations for us to pull them around. I half expected them to order a frozen, tropical drink topped with a mini umbrella.
    Brandi was more of a passionate swimmer as she would swim from one raft to Buddy’s raft just to be next to him — or just to intimidate him, depending upon her mood.
    They became completely overjoyed and hyper with excitement each time they got the opportunity to go into the pool. Although we complained as if it were a nuisance, truthfully we had a great time and loved every minute of it.
    Without fail, each time they would exit the pool, Buddy, full of adrenalin e , would do approximately ten laps around the pool and the n run to the “bathroom pen” to take care of business. Brandi would skip the laps and run straight to the pen to do the same. Not once did they ever go to the bathroom in the pool. It was safe to say we were relieved about that.
    It became moderately funny when we had visitors over. They would be relaxing in the tepid water , blanketed by the warmth of the hot summer sun, when out of nowhere, two huge masses of fur would jump in the pool and splash them. Some people laughed and others may have grimaced . I don’t think we ever invited those who grimaced over again. A fter all, it was our pups’ house , too.
    There were some days when we wanted to experience the salty air of the beach. On Long Island, however, there we re not many public beaches that allow ed dogs. While we knew that they were not allowed, we simply could not resist. How could you have a golden retriever (or two) and not let them swim in the ocean? That wa s one of my major gripes with Long Island. As big as it wa s, there we re no real dog-friendly beaches or parks for that matter. To us, however, it was well worth the risk. We had to go and venture to the ocean with the dogs.
    We decided quite a few times that we would risk it and were going to take our chances. The reward was just too great. We piled everyone into our van and meandered on down to the beach. We always had an incredible time.
    As soon as the pups smelled the saltwater in the air, they would become a bit uncontrollable , complete with whimpering and/or barking . This would temporarily grate on our nerves until we arrived at our destination.
    Seconds later, when it was time to get out of the van, they were overcome with excitement. They could hardly contain themselves. It was always such a great pleasure to watch them just be dogs . Before we even slid open the door to the van, they were jumping and wagging their tails. We had to stop them from hanging themselves with their leash. All this excitement — just to go swimming .
    Typically, even though the air could be hot and humid on Long Island, the beach water d id not really heat up until August. Prior to August, it wa s somewhat cold; however, the pups never seem ed to mind. In fact, they absolutely loved it .
    The first time they went in the water, we tried to put on one of those doggy life preservers. Similar to the seatbelt, it just did not work. The extra - large size was not large enough. Buddy and Brandi were not overweight by any means, but they would not fit.
    We had to implement the next best thing. We bought fifteen - foo t leads and allowed them to venture out into the water. If they drifted too far and it did not seem like they were coming back anytime soon, we would gently pull on the lead to guide them back toward our direction .
    Once or twice, Michael had to go swimming in the ice - cold water when it seemed like th e dogs were not listening to us. S ecretly , I thought it was a hoax to see if they could get Michael to swim in that water . In all