I love being an international boat dog – don’t get me wrong. However, one of my main priorities every day is getting to some solid land. Going to shore is my favorite activity. Running through sand, chasing small creatures, sniffing all the smells – it’s glorious. There are a few different ways that my humans transport me to shore.
Riding in the dinghy
This is by far my favorite option – and the fastest. I see the humans lower the dinghy into the water, and I immediately run over (and sometimes hop in by myself). I know this means they’re headed to land, and I want to make sure I get to go with! I have even learned to not care when they put my life jacket on me, because then I’m positive I get to go.
I like to ride as far up front as possible on the inflatable side of the dinghy. Mom says that I’m going to fall off, but I haven’t yet! Every time I start to slip I feel something lift me up until I’m steady again – probably magic or I’m just that good at balancing. Here’s a bunch of photos of me riding in the dinghy!
Paddle boarding
Often times if it’s just mom and I headed to shore, we will take the paddle board. I kind of enjoy this method too, although it takes so much longer. I also seem to fall off the paddle board fairly frequently. Why my balance isn’t as good even though there’s way less movement than on the dinghy is a mystery. If I fall off though, mom sets down her paddle and lifts me back onboard by my life jacket. I guess that silly thing is somewhat helpful after all.
When on the paddle board, sometimes I can spot turtles or fish swimming right underneath of us! I don’t really know what these creatures are, but I enjoy watching them move about. I sometimes wonder if I could chase them, but then I remind myself that I’m not really the swimming type of dog. As we approach the beach (we always take the paddle board to a beach), I lean way out over the front so that I can jump off at the exact moment that the water fades into sand. Here’s a bunch of photos of me paddle boarding!
Paddling with my legs
Swimming – yes that heading should have just read “swimming” with a big frowny face. Luckily, the humans don’t normally anchor the boat close enough to shore to suggest swimming. If I have to swim, I’m not even sure that I care about getting to land anymore. One day, I’m going to give it a shot using my splash pool (fully inflated) and have mom push me along with her. That might be acceptable.
Dockside access
I almost forgot – there’s another way that I’m able to get to shore. Forget everything I said earlier about riding the dinghy – this is my favorite! On rare occasions, the humans take our home right up to a dock. Then we are able to just jump off the boat and we’re on land – yay! That’s the best. I always seem to get extra walks on these days too – even more reason to love it.
The fake land
On rare occasions, I don’t get to go to shore at all. Cruel and unusual punishment. On those days, the humans try to make me use this pad of fake grass on the back of the boat. As if I can’t tell that it is fake and the only smells on it are my own. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great option to go potty on between my trips to shore. I happily do that several times a day, but there’s some things that I just prefer to do on solid land.
Plus, I’m a wild animal – I need room to run!
