Before my husband found me... he had another love in his life. His dog, Bugsy. He is a little rescue Boxer-Pug. Bugsy is the name that he came with, but I can tell you with absolutely certainty his previous owner gave him that name because of his bug eyes. Some think he's cute, some say he's so ugly that he is cute, and some feel that he is just plain ugly... feel free to decide for yourself.
Bugsy and I have a strange relationship. He used to rule the house, but my presence has significantly limited his kingdom. As a friend of mine put it, we've had some re-zoning issues. The week after our honeymoon Bugsy followed me around all day long. I told Zac he had either accepted my friendship or upped my surveillance. I'm fairly certain it was the latter.
Now, i feel I must defend myself by telling anyone who doesn't know me that I am a dog person. At least I thought I was before I met Zac and his family. My dogs have always lived in the lap of luxury... inside the house, a treat every night before bed, padded doggy pillows, warm towels for burrowing under and even an occasional invitation to sit next to me on the couch. Let's just say Zac, Bugsy and I have had to come to some compromises.
Last weekend Zac and I finally got the chance to take our kayaks to the lake. One of the compromises we've had to make is that Bugsy is no longer invited to ride-along every time we leave the house. I thought this would be a great opportunity to show the little guy some love and bring him out on the kayaks with us.
I got in the kayak and paddled a few strokes. It seemed fairly comfortable so I pulled The Bugster in with me. He did not come willingly, but Zac and I are going to be making this a regular outing so his choices are to get used to the boat or stay home. At first he sat very still in between my knees, but as he got more comfortable with the rythm of the rowing he eventually popped up on top of the kayak. His 25lbs isn't too much to have to worry about, but it does make the ride a tad less smooth when he is walking around on top.
As Bugsy got more and more comfortable he moved closer and closer to the tip. I warned him, "Bugs, you're going to slip and fall in." But he didn't seem to believe me and guess what? He miscalculated a stride, got a little too close to the edge and with noting to grip with his little paws he went straight in.
I reached down quickly and scooped him up by his harness. His puppy instincts had kicked in and he was paddling along as I pulled him out of the water and back into my kayak. He stayed down in the well between my legs for a few mins after the slip, but it wasn't too long before he was back on the top navigating. He was getting pretty good with his sea legs.
A half hour passed with no incident, but while we were just off shore another kayak with a dog came close. Both dogs jumped into the water to greet each other and since it was only about 5 inches deep Bugsy had no problem keeping his head out of the water. We got the dogs back into their respective kayaks and took off our separate ways.
Unfortunately Bugsy seems to have a fairly short, or possible selective, memory. Zac and I rowed around into the area where they doc sailboats and were floating past the colorful vessels. The Bugster was back on the tip of my kayak and as Zac passed in front of me he decided he would jump ship and join his favorite human's crew. The problem... we were no longer floating over only 5 inches of water.
I saw the wheels turning in Bugsy's head. He leaned back primed to make the jump.
"Bugsy, No! It's deep here."
That little jerk looked back at me, looked down at the water and jumped in. There was no slipping this time. It was a deliberate jump. And boy was he surprised when his little feet didn't touch the ground before his head went under.
He sunk low enough that I almost toppled over while reaching my arm down in the water to grab his harness. As I snatched him up out of the water his eyes were twice as large as usual, (which really is saying something.) And if he could talk I swear he came up gasping, "What the H#LL?!?!?"
I couldn't stop laughing. I dumped his little wet self in the well between my knees and he just sat there slightly stunned while we rowed back into the doc. I'm pretty sure he blamed me for deepening the water, but he did seem to forgive me before bed that night.
Sorry buddy, we're just gonna have to learn to live with each other now. We share the same favorite human. ;-)
Bugsy and I have a strange relationship. He used to rule the house, but my presence has significantly limited his kingdom. As a friend of mine put it, we've had some re-zoning issues. The week after our honeymoon Bugsy followed me around all day long. I told Zac he had either accepted my friendship or upped my surveillance. I'm fairly certain it was the latter.
Now, i feel I must defend myself by telling anyone who doesn't know me that I am a dog person. At least I thought I was before I met Zac and his family. My dogs have always lived in the lap of luxury... inside the house, a treat every night before bed, padded doggy pillows, warm towels for burrowing under and even an occasional invitation to sit next to me on the couch. Let's just say Zac, Bugsy and I have had to come to some compromises.
Last weekend Zac and I finally got the chance to take our kayaks to the lake. One of the compromises we've had to make is that Bugsy is no longer invited to ride-along every time we leave the house. I thought this would be a great opportunity to show the little guy some love and bring him out on the kayaks with us.
I got in the kayak and paddled a few strokes. It seemed fairly comfortable so I pulled The Bugster in with me. He did not come willingly, but Zac and I are going to be making this a regular outing so his choices are to get used to the boat or stay home. At first he sat very still in between my knees, but as he got more comfortable with the rythm of the rowing he eventually popped up on top of the kayak. His 25lbs isn't too much to have to worry about, but it does make the ride a tad less smooth when he is walking around on top.
As Bugsy got more and more comfortable he moved closer and closer to the tip. I warned him, "Bugs, you're going to slip and fall in." But he didn't seem to believe me and guess what? He miscalculated a stride, got a little too close to the edge and with noting to grip with his little paws he went straight in.
I reached down quickly and scooped him up by his harness. His puppy instincts had kicked in and he was paddling along as I pulled him out of the water and back into my kayak. He stayed down in the well between my legs for a few mins after the slip, but it wasn't too long before he was back on the top navigating. He was getting pretty good with his sea legs.
A half hour passed with no incident, but while we were just off shore another kayak with a dog came close. Both dogs jumped into the water to greet each other and since it was only about 5 inches deep Bugsy had no problem keeping his head out of the water. We got the dogs back into their respective kayaks and took off our separate ways.
Unfortunately Bugsy seems to have a fairly short, or possible selective, memory. Zac and I rowed around into the area where they doc sailboats and were floating past the colorful vessels. The Bugster was back on the tip of my kayak and as Zac passed in front of me he decided he would jump ship and join his favorite human's crew. The problem... we were no longer floating over only 5 inches of water.
I saw the wheels turning in Bugsy's head. He leaned back primed to make the jump.
"Bugsy, No! It's deep here."
That little jerk looked back at me, looked down at the water and jumped in. There was no slipping this time. It was a deliberate jump. And boy was he surprised when his little feet didn't touch the ground before his head went under.
He sunk low enough that I almost toppled over while reaching my arm down in the water to grab his harness. As I snatched him up out of the water his eyes were twice as large as usual, (which really is saying something.) And if he could talk I swear he came up gasping, "What the H#LL?!?!?"
I couldn't stop laughing. I dumped his little wet self in the well between my knees and he just sat there slightly stunned while we rowed back into the doc. I'm pretty sure he blamed me for deepening the water, but he did seem to forgive me before bed that night.
Sorry buddy, we're just gonna have to learn to live with each other now. We share the same favorite human. ;-)
Fun-nee from Alice....
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