Last weekend, a couple of college friends came down from San Francisco to stay with us. It was especially awesome because we went to school together in Ohio and most of our friends still live in the Midwest (despite Jared’s incessant efforts to convince them to move to paradise on earth San Diego). What made it even more special: we got our boys together for the first time!
On Saturday, the six of us drove to Fiesta Island, which is a dog friendly, leash-free island of doggie utopia. Really, it’s just a plain, old, flat island about 4-5 miles around, with a couple of trees, tons of open space to run, and sandy beaches all the way around. Like I said, doggie utopia.
As soon as Sully sees the water and realizes he’s not on a leash, he sprints for it. He splashes in, swims a bit, runs back and swims again before sprinting back to us, shaking off and looking at us with the sparkliest I’m-the-happiest-dog-in-the-world eyes.
Buster, is a happy, bouncy, bright-eyed pup all the time; however, he’s not as blindly trusting of moving water as our naive boy. So Josh and Claire took turns walking Buster out a few yards, then setting him down in the water to swim back. And big buddy, Sully, stayed with him every step paddle of the way.
Buster was clearly uneasy about the water, but soaked up every last ounce of praise from his mama and papa after he swam back to shore.
Sully was also extremely proud of Buster for facing his fear; unfortunately, Sully has a shorter attention span than Dory from Finding Nemo and kept running off to chase jet skis. Side-note: Sully has a funny fascination with boats, jet skis, kayaks, surfers, paddle-boarders, water-skiiers–pretty much anything out on the water.
After two hours running wild on Fiesta, our boy was tuckered out.
Back home, clean and dry, our pups got “naked” together and roamed around the house without their collars. Old man, Sully, was just plain pooped, while Buster was absolutely glowing with pride. He is seriously one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever met. I mean, check out that giant smile:
Lil Buster-boy got me thinking about overcoming fear and doing things that scare us, so I’m cooking up a post on that, but in the meantime, I’ll leave you with one of hubby’s all-time favorite quotes from Who Moved My Cheese:
“When you move beyond fear, you feel free.” (-Spencer Johnson)
What fears have YOU overcome?
Just yesterday, I wanted to go to the John Legend/Sade concert but none of my friend could/would join. Instead of bailing, I decided “what the heck” and I just went by myself. It was a little nerve-wracking, but it felt all the better knowing I was pushing myself beyond my comfort zone.
This post made my life. I miss the four of you SO MUCH. I am very jealous that you have that dog utopia island – Tabitha would LOVE IT. Maybe someday we will drug her up and take her there on a plane.
Thanks so much for sharing these pictures, Meg. This made me so happy today. I love you guys to pieces.
@Jared – I've been thinking about going to a concert myself a lot lately, as Craig has been out of town a bunch. You might have given me the motivation! Also, that concert had to be freaking awesome.
Love, Dactyl
yeah! thanks for posting all of those pics! Sully was such a great big brother in the ocean, even though Buster had been a big jerk to him up until that point in the weekend
Miss you guys already!
And to answer your question, I have never really been comfortable doing new things on my own, but that fear has been mildly debilitating in this city where I'm still struggling to make good friends. So a few months ago I started going to zumba classes all by myself, it was a big step
LOL… Awww this wass the sweetest post ever! The pups look so happy and Buster is just plain excited even though he is pooped. My terrier is terrified of water and will not go near it. It warmed my heart to see Buster doggie paddling to shore and Sully right there watching him in the water. Too cute!
Maria @ Asphalt Tales