| Home Front on the Waterfront: One Last Swim | | Print | |
| Written by Lori Price | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 08 July 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
My family is enjoying the hot summer weather and all that a lake house has to offer. One family member in particular could never get enough of the lake. My dog Abby swims in the lake as if it’s her job. And I guess, for a golden retriever, it is so instinctual that it is a job, of sorts. If it were up to her she would never leave the lake, which is why she wears a life jacket. When I realized I was fighting a losing battle—of insisting she take some breaks throughout her lake visits—I sent my kids to the Main Lake Market for a doggie life vest. But even with the vest on she wears herself out retrieving her Frisbee a hundred times a day or swimming alongside the sunfish as my son sails around our cove or, by chasing ducks and other critters she has no chance of catching.
If we are down by the dock, she is in the water, sometimes just digging for a treasure in the sand or splashing around with my kids. She is a water dog and just can’t get enough.
When I successfully ban her from the water and send her to the house to relax for a while, someone inevitably opens the front door, freeing her from her exile. Suddenly and ever so quietly—as if she had just escaped from Alcatraz—she would float by me as I sat on the dock. Sometimes from a distance I’d catch a glimpse of her head bobbing up and down, like a cork on the water, and knew she had made her way back to the lake she loved so much.
Last week my husband and I sat on the dock. We were kid-free and we were enjoying the peace and quiet. It was dark and a breeze was blowing ever so slightl
As we sat there I noticed Abby was also staring out at the lake, taking in all the smells and catching the breeze on her fur. As I watched her I thought about how calm she appeared, as if taking her cues from the lake itself. Often at night she’d go up on the deck and fall asleep, worn out from a day of lake activities. But on that night she sat on the end of the dock, like a statue, taking it all in as if silently appreciating the peacefulness of the lake. I hope she knew how lucky she was and how much we loved her.
Just four days later Abby died suddenly and unexpectedly of what the vet believes was an aneurysm of the heart. She was eight years old, in great shape and had never been sick. She collapsed and never regained consciousness. I held her head and stroked her body expecting her to wake up. She felt no pain and didn’t suffer. I was told her brain died when she fell to the ground but her heart kept beating for another 5 minutes…I’m not surprised by that, since her heart was so big and filled with love—love for her family, love for an active fun life, and love for the lake she so enjoyed and perhaps was bidding farewell to on that warm quiet evening four days earlier. I wonder what she was thinking and if somehow she knew she had taken her last swim and wouldn’t be back again.
On the post at the end of our dock I attached Abby’s life vest, her Frisbee, and her pink faux diamond studded collar. It is sad to see but somehow brings us some comfort. She was a huge part of our family and we miss her dearly.
The other day, from my living room window, the sight of a large dog swimming past my dock made me do a double take. I am even more surprised to see my son and my new neighbor chasing after the dog in my Whaler. The dog, new to the lake and swimming, went out too far while chasing ducks. His owner and my son were on a rescue mission...although the dog, like Abby, saw no need for a rescue. The scene made me laugh out loud. It seems any chance he gets he heads right for the water.
Maybe I won’t need my dockside memorial to forever remind me of my beloved Abby swimming and enjoying the lake. It brings me joy to see my new canine neighbor discovering for the first time what Abby knew and loved so much: the thrill of swimming and how lucky a dog is to spend its summer’s on Lake Hopatcong.
Welcome to our neighborhood on Lake Hopatcong, Prince, Poochey, and Gino...Abby's paradise.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
y. The lake was calm and we sat there staring out at the boats making their way home, as we became mesmerized by the sounds and the tranquility of the lake at night.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
