While my mom was visiting us in Florida we wanted to do some new and exciting day trips in Florida, so we visited her friend Cheryl near the Tampa area and took all the dogs to the dog beach at Fort De Soto. We were hoping that Alvin, who had seemed to be behaving lately, wouldn't be a problem. But as usual.. he was.
First, we BBQ'd Cheryl's amazing portobello burgers under a pavilion as the normal Florida thunderstorms passed through as they dumped gallons of water down to earth which kept us off the beach. During this time, all four dogs were content with the exception of Elbee (one of my mom's dogs) who was attempting to attack every person that walked by. Alvin was quiet and behaved sitting under the picnic table, perhaps only because his arthritis left him not wanting to make the effort to get up.
Once the sun emerged and we decided to hit up the beach, Alvin's adventures began once again. The warm sun seemed to energize him, and this new energy brought out his most undesirable qualities, including his usual lunging to attack every dog we passed as we walked down the sand path to the water. Thank goodness for his bungee leash which has kept my arm muscles in tact through all of his bad lunging behaviors by bouncing him back to me each time he pulls, and always keeps him under control. Until at least, we entered the plethora of dogs sunbathing, swimming, playing, digging, smelling each other's butts and running around on the beach. There were big dogs, little dogs, skinny dogs, fat dogs, long haired and short haired, and ones of every color. Alvin's partial blindness saved those individuals that approached him and greeted him without him noticing, but the few unlucky ones that caught his eye were in for a surprise of Alvin's attempted attacks. It was time to get Alvin off the beach.
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| (Photo taken by Cheryl Finnerty) |
As an old dog, Alvin chooses to no longer swim, although as a spaniel, he has webbed toes and is supposed to be a natural born swimmer. He loved the beach as a young lad, frolicking in the water and mud, and even swimming out a few feet deep to retrieve a tennis ball. Those days are no more. But his behavior left us no choice, and it was time to take Alvin for a swim to get him away from the other dogs. Lugging Alvin's heavy body wasn't easy but I was able to pull him out to sea to get him away from the other dogs. Elbee and Weiner were managing the Gulf's waters just fine as they would paddle their way to shore each time we emerged them in the water, using their long tails as propellers. Elbee kept coming back into the water for more. Penny lifeguarded from the shore. Alvin, on the other hand, just wasn't getting it. I released Alvin in water about 3 feet deep to give him an opportunity to swim. Swimming was clearly no longer a forte of elderly Alvin. Instead of paddling right side up, his body flopped upside down in a drowning position. His muscles tensed, and his bones locked. He flipped, and flopped, and well... the next thing would have been death so I had to flip him over where he gasped for air and nothing seemed to help. After his near death experience I pulled him to shore where he lay on the sand like a drowned victim as we tried to force air into his lungs and a little fresh water in his mouth once we was finally able to take his first breath. Poor Alvin. A bad dog, but the poor old guy can't swim and he had almost drowned. He got a free pass to stay out of the water... for now.
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| Needless to say, Alvin was not enjoying himself in the water. (Photos taken by Cheryl Finnerty) |
We let him rest ashore as we all went back into the water where we enjoyed swimming in warm waves, and finding sea stars and sand dollars (which we always released after we enjoyed looking at them). This fun only lasted a short time before Alvin managed to recover quickly and started lunging at the other dogs again and even instigate a few attacks. Cheryl sat ashore and was on babysitting patrol with Alvin for a while, and then we decided to put Penny in charge since she opted for staying ashore anyway. This idea didn't last long as he still lunged, in between periods of resting and enjoying the beach quietly and in peace as he ignored about half of the dogs that passed him. It was hit or miss whether he would go after a dog or not, but with his deafness and blindness he seemed to ignore the majority of them. Once he calmed down we decided to tie Weiner to him as punishment for her since she disappeared for a good 15 minutes going off to explore and eat old BBQ chicken bones, until he lunged at a dog again and its owner almost broke Weiner's neck by grabbing her instead of Alvin's leash.
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| Penny and Weiner taking time baby- sitting Alvin (Photos taken by Cheryl Finnerty) |
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This led to the last and final solution before we had to leave the beach because of Alvin's behaviors. He had to be pulled into the water again to get an attitude adjustment. It only took a few short moments of feeling the water again to remind Alvin of his near-death experience and keep him behaved for a good 2 minutes straight before proceeding to attack dogs. The day went back and forth between Alvin lunging, and being pulled out to sea to keep him monitored and docile, and we managed to get through the whole day without him making full contact or leaving any marks on the other dogs. Look, we are not irresponsible and we are not bad dog owners.... this was just supposed to be a day of fun for "everyone" and since Alvin seemed to be a well-behaved star these days we felt it was worth a try to test out his behaviors, since as they tend to be predictable, once in a while Alvin is good and actually surprises us. Also, since he is in his golden years, (and there may not be many years left) we thought he deserved a day out to actually experience being in a public place since he is never allowed to go anywhere. We thought maybe he would enjoy a favored activity of his youth, but we were wrong. Fortunately, he came home with us unharmed and as healthy and strong as an ox and will continue his adventures from here on out. With a day of Alvin, as I described in the moments of the excitements there "is always something". Whether it's him getting into trouble or almost drawing it's just always a new problem for us to deal with. I guess that's what having a bad dog is all about. We will love him all the same.. especially realizing that he is getting older and his days could be limited (but there's also a chance there are plenty more of them). Look forward to our next adventure with Alvin.
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