Dog Days Of Summer

Well, they say that this is the time of the summer that gets you yearning for that first falling leaf, the cool breezes and the frosty mornings. They call it the Dog Days of Summer. Well, for my parents' dog sophie, she couldn't be happier in the summer. Summer weather means she gets to go swimming.

For those of you that don't know, Sophie used to compete in "Dock Diving". She did a really good job, but is now retired from competing. She would show up to the competitions lying outstretched on the back seat of my parents car. The other dogs would be penned up in their crates, just enough room to bark jealously at sophie as she sauntered by. Sophie loved the events. She used them to socialize with the humans more than the other dogs. Her demeanor was so outgoing and sweet that she would quickly become a crowd favorite. Her best jump was somewhere just under 22 feet. The best jumping dogs, the ones featured on ESPN jump about 25 feet. Anything over 21 feet is considered a "Big Air" dog. So Sophie was among the elite. After several competitions, she decided she enjoyed socializing more than jumping, so she quit. Well, now she jumps for fun at home. Everday after work I change into my swimming suit and go down to the dock and throw a stick for her. We do this for about 30 minutes and it has become a routine that she will not let me forget about. If I want to take a day off, she comes up to me and jumps up on me, nudging me to go out and play. On weekends, when the lake is full of recreational boating traffic, she will regularly attract several boats full of families amazed at her ability. I have attached a movie of her jumping. It's a lot of fun and pretty amazing at the same time