Day 182 - July 9: Fresh Water

Golder Retrievers like to swim and Rufus is no exception.  He also likes to dive underwater with his eyes wide open, coming up with live crabs clinched in his jaws, their appendages flailing.  And through it all he drinks.  Constantly.  Salt water.  Every time he goes to the beach, he pays a heavy price for the next two days.  Yet he never learns.  Like a few guys I knew in college, his hangovers are interrupted only by bouts of drinking.  I actually asked my vet if there was maybe a pill he could take to make him stop?  Hey, it was worth a try.  The only remedy we've found so far is to prevent the long salt water exposure from happening in the first place.  Keeping him from the beach is heartbreaking but effective.  In order to provide him with exercise, and ease my guilt, we often take him to White's Pond, a fresh water pond with warm, clean water and no people - often our end-of-day, rinse-off fun spot.  We load the car with a multitude of toys and towels and kids, as well as Ru.  He plays and drinks to his heart's content.  Dog Heaven.