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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Dougies Dance with Death

Brindle Great Dane Sleeping
Well it has been quite a while since I have written anything here. Much to my dismay but as life is slowly getting into a routine and Josh and I are now the only two humans living in our house, I am finding time for all of my much neglected projects.

However an abundance of time is not the reason I was compelled to write.

Yesterday while Josh, Douges and I were visiting the farm where my parents are staying while visiting Australia we all went on a lovely walk around the property.

During this walk our little explorer gave a flying leap into the big pond at the base of the property. He does this every time he goes by it so we all thought little of it. However, Dougie hates water in his ears, I mean hates!

He loves water however, so he refuses to get out and instead starts violently shaking his head while in the water which subsequently causes even more water to slip down his big floppy ears. Normally this is comical to watch.

As I was laughing at his sillyness I realised he was beginning to panic, his head started shaking more and more dramatically as he tried, in vain, to shake the water from his ears. And then he started that typical splashing that we all do, human or K9, when we are distressed in water.

By this time we are all yelling and whistling to try and snap him out of his panic. And then his head went under…

That is when I lost it, mind you I didn't go diving into the slimy pond right away but my heart jumped into my throat and I had to force my feet to stay on the ground and not panic. I knew jumping in to save him right away would probably be bad for both of us as I am not a strong swimmer and he has claws the size of Texas that would very easily scratch me to death as he tried to get to safety.

Then I noticed Josh and Dad at the waters edge preparing to save Dougie if he didn't come up. Of course he resurfaced and then finally snapped out of it and whatever evil pond creature had curled around his leg had released him. I know his short little life flashed before his eyes, needless to say he stayed close the rest of the day, soaking up the affection and concern of his humanoids.

I know this seems like a complete over reaction to a silly little "almost drowning" experience, but I think God has sent this dog to us to prepare us for kids.

Yes we may not have to wipe his bum, but we do pretty much everything else for this dog. We constantly try to manage his insecurities and reassure him that he is safe and loved. We try to balance fun time with learning time. We try to be fair and consistent so it is not confusing for him. I know he is just a dog (not that he knows that) but this pup has seriously changed our lives over the last year and half and I know God put him in our path for not only his happiness but our growth.

Happy almost birthday Dougie! Please don't jump into ponds and try to kill yourself again. Maybe it was a cry for help.

The below link is a weird thing I found on preparing for the type of situation we were in yesterday. Useful info for dog owners.

Rescuing a Dog from Drowning

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