Deep end

Those of you who have been following me on Facebook have probably seen that I've got a new hobby. Its called swimming - or lets be honest its probably more like wading as my paws have been touching the ground the whole time. So far I've chased and retrieved sticks thrown into the river Thames, then soaked my body in the luscious mud like a sunbathing hippo and today I graduated to my first real lake visit.

It was such a great place, you should have seen it. Dogs from all over town had gathered there for the season's first swim and sticks and balls were flying everywhere, followed of course by bouncy Labradors and Spaniels. I watched them play in the shallow water for a while, then I tri

ed to steal another dog's stick. I got pushed around a bit before I realized that the labradors take this game rather seriously and I managed to get completely soaked before we walked on.

A bit further into the park we found another lake. This time there were no other dogs around and I wasn't going to miss the opportunity of getting closer to the ducks. I took a big leap out into the water and then, suddenly there was dark, cold water everywhere. My paws were desperately trying to find firm ground to stand on but my little legs were pushing uselessly as it turned out I was at the deep end of the pond. Luckily my human started calling my name so I knew which direction to swim, but her voice sounded distorted and muddled and I couldn't see her properly. She helped me out of the water and the world quickly returned to normal as I shook the water out of my ears and nose.

We now know for sure that I can swim, but my human wasn't impressed with taking the bus home with her clothes completely covered in mud so I need to work on my technique

of getting out of the water.

The photo shows me directly after my dive, trying to figure out a safe way to get back into the water...