Poodle Humor
To celebrate the last day of this long winter, Strummer and I went to the beach yesterday. The beach we chose was Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Dogs are allowed on Singing Beach from October through April.
Poodles, as you know, were bred to be water retrievers. Thus is it rather embarrassing to me when Strummer runs away from the waves as they roll up the beach. Don't get me wrong, Strummer had a fabulous time at the beach. She just didn't want to play with any of the dogs that were playing in the water, with whom I, of course, kept encouraging her to play.
Just as I was thinking that it was about time to start thinking about leaving the beach, Strummer got caught up in a game from which she just couldn't tear herself away. The game involved three other dogs: a border collie, who was fetching two balls with her people, a boxer, and a Parson Russell terrier, and consisted in a twisted version of keep-away: i.e. keep the border collie away from her tennis ball, and, if that fails, keep her away from her humans. This is one of Strummer's favorite games.
The border collie and her humans didn't seem to be enjoying the game so much, so I called Strummer away. She kept trying to give me the slip, and, finally, when the game reached a new level of excitement, she bolted.
The next thing I knew, all four dogs, my fastidious poodle not last among them, were diving head first into a wave!
I'm convinced that Strummer knew that, if she got wet, we'd have to stay longer to give her coat a chance to dry a little bit.
Good one, Strummer. But the joke's on you: I'll turn you into a water dog, yet!