<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
panose-1:3 15 7 2 3 3 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>My friend Kim, who is the Yapper’s mother, flew in and spent a couple of days with us. Kim is going back to South Carolina for at least a month, so this afternoon I dropped her at the airport and took along the three dogs, Gracie, Holly and Belle the Yapper. The plan was to drop Kim off then take the girls to the park, and that’s what I did. We have several nice parks quite close by to choose from, and I decided to go to Twin Lakes Park. It is two identical parks on either side of a large main thoroughfare, each park has a small man-made lake with a large fountain in the middle, and there are always lots of ducks. The girls love this park because they love the different smells there (a nice way to say they love the duck poop smells). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Now you have to understand that Sister Gracie is a water drinker like you can’t believe. A tanker. And she drinks like a horse, meaning she puts her entire head in the water up to her eyeballs. If she sees water anywhere, she drinks it – in fact, it is her personal mission in life to drink any and every puddle she finds dry. If it’s a huge puddle, she wades out into it and gulps until I drag her off. And if it’s really hot and the puddle is good and dirty, she tries to lay down in it while drinking. Texas in the hot summer with everyone watering their yards, you get the picture. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>So one of Gracie’s dearest wishes is to try to drink the little lake in the park dry. (Picture a lake that’s oblong with a large fountain in the middle, about half the length and width of a city block. With ducks and fish.) She sees that lake and she starts barreling towards it, and I always steer her up to higher ground and don’t let her near the edge of the lake because in my imagination I see a disaster occurring with her getting into the water and not being able to get out, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>For some strange reason, when we stopped at the park today, I let the girls go close to the edge of the lake (all are on leashes the whole time). Well guess what happened next. It was in the mid-90s and Gracie made a beeline for the lake. Holly and Belle ignored the lake and were sniffing a tree (ducks). Gracie gets to the water and sniffs and takes a little drink and goes YUCK this doesn’t taste good. Then takes another drink to be sure, yep, this water tastes nasty. At which time I look over to check on Holly and Belle, they’re still at the tree, then I look back at Gracie and she is in the water up to her belly. So I start yelling No Gracie, No and pulling on her leash. Then her feet hit the green slime, and her collar pops off as she slides out into the water. I’m yelling Gracie, come back Gracie to no avail. But she is swimming, not sinking, so I run to the tree and quickly tie the other two girls to it and then head back towards Gracie, all the while hollering Gracie, come back Gracie, which is not working.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>About the time I was ready to jump in and go get her (I’m a great swimmer but that water is green and nasty), I suddenly remembered that Gracie is deaf. So I could holler come here from now on and she’s not going to hear me. Plus she is swimming in a big oval with her back turned, so she can’t see me and is probably disoriented and frightened, and it looks like her rump is getting lower and lower in the water, she is getting ready to start sinking. So I quit calling and run down the bank to where she can see me, and sure enough she starts paddling my way. She managed to get to the edge and I helped her get out. She was so pooped that she could barely walk to the car. In the meantime the other two were sitting up under the tree closely watching all the goings on with a great deal of interest, I don’t think they could believe that Gracie was out swimming in the lake. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>All’s well that ends well. Gracie has not dried out totally yet and does not realize that she will be getting a shower tomorrow to get rid of the pond smell, and I think she’s sore from the swimming, but she is okay. The doggie blanket from the car is muddy and also smells like pond scum and is in the washer. I think poor old Gracie (age 14) has had all the exercise she can take for today, she is going to get some extra pain medicine tonight and get put to bed early. Holly and Belle seem to be rather subdued, too, and Mama is just thrilled that Gracie did not drown. We probably will wait a few weeks before going back to Twin Lakes Park. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Anita Woodrum<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><a href="mailto:awoodrum@clear.net">awoodrum@clear.net</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>