Some dogs tolerate water. Tobby was born for it.
He is a classic Labrador, and if you have ever looked closely at a Lab's paws, you'll understand. They are huge, soft, and slightly webbed between the toes, like little paddles. His thick tail works like a rudder. Everything about him was built for one purpose, and that purpose is not lying on the sofa, whatever he would like you to believe.
He was only four months old the first time he saw a lake. I expected him to be careful. Puppies usually are. He wasn't. He walked to the edge, looked at the water for exactly one second, and jumped in.
And that was it. We could not get him out.
He swam in circles. He swam after sticks, after leaves, after nothing at all. He came out only to shake himself all over us and run straight back in. A small brown puppy who had just discovered that the world contains something wonderful, and that it is wet.
I have never seen anyone so completely, uncomplicatedly happy.
He is now a very grown-up forty kilos, and nothing has changed. Show him water, any water, and he becomes that puppy again.
We decided that in a previous life he must have been a duck. It is the only explanation. So now he wears a collar with a tiny yellow duck charm hanging from it, so that everyone knows. Forty kilos of chocolate Labrador with a little duck at his neck. My big baby.
I love watching him swim. Not only because it is funny, though it is. But because he does it with his whole heart. He doesn't think about how he looks, whether the water is too cold, whether he should be doing something more useful. He just jumps in and lets himself be happy.
I am still learning to do that.
What makes you as happy as water makes him? And when did you last let yourself jump in?
Would you like to share your answer?
I read every answer myself. It stays private unless you say otherwise.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please reach out to local emergency services or a crisis line in your country right now. You deserve immediate support.
With love, from HerWay (and Tobby)
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