An unapologetic plant geek shares advice and opinions on gardening, the contrived and the natural landscape, as well as occasional topics from the other side of the gate.

July 9, 2008

Sink, Swim, and Clyde

Despite a large appetite, Loretta has absolutely no body fat and that combined with a total inability to swim - makes her sink like a stone. At least she has enough sense to stay where her feet touch bottom. What I don't understand, is her habit of totally immersing her head under the water and thrashing it from side to side, carrying on for 20 minutes or more. She is the oddest dog I have ever owned.
On the other hand, beautiful Patsy has always swum like an otter, and will gracefully paddle for the sheer joy of it any chance she gets. It is a good thing she enjoys the water, because increasingly her back legs fail her on dry land.
Here she is in repose by the hydrangeas with a certain look on her 13 year old face.
Cousin Clyde is always grateful when the girls visit, he gets few visitors - especially female ones.

5 comments:

  1. Dogs are so funny! Maybe Loretta is fishing. I knew a dog that retrieved rocks underwater. I'm on my second golden retriever, and she's totally different from my first one.

    I LOVE the tidal/beach photos below. This was a nice break from packing and the cold wet weather here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the doggies! They just seem to go with those beautiful hydrangeas. Mine usually don't dig too so that is good. I bet yours don't either.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Loretta and Patsy look like they might be talking about Clyde in that last photo--or maybe just exchanging significant looks? Does Clyde sing as well as they do?

    I love dogs. Ranunculus is a good gardener--he doesn't dig in the garden, he stays on the paths, and he stops to smell the flowers. We could have called him Ferdinand.

    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sarah,
    Thanks for taking a break from your chore to visit. Is there a quarantine period to bring dogs back to the states, if so how long?

    Tina,
    Loretta digs, but not all over the place. She likes to dig sleeping holes and sticks to two spots. One is OK for the gardener, the other I had to put a piece of lattice over and cover with mulch, and she now leaves that alone.

    Cosmo,
    Despite her name, Patsy does not sing, but she does purr. Loretta has a beautiful voice and will sing with just a little encouragement. Clyde is a working dog and has a great voice, especially when chasing rabbit. Unfortunately for him, the girls are usually aloof (and with most males) and after an initial sniff they ignore him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What happy dogs(-: How can you not love their little expressions(-:

    ReplyDelete