I think life’s most wonderful entertainers, besides kids, would have to be our pets. In fact, like children, we enjoy watching them make poor choices in the most simplest task. We keep telling ourselves it’s a good lesson for them, but we both know we allow it to happen for that one epic or hilarious moment.
We had stayed with my Husband’s cousins with our brand new Basset Hound puppy, Sissy, in tow. She was horribly adorable and the ears were beyond ridiculously long. Good mannered and excited to meet people, she was having a blast.
The truck was loaded and we had said our goodbyes as we walked her out in the yard. Our cousin had no fence, and his yard sloped down to a retention pond in the back. As we spoke to Dean, we all paused as we watched the little Basset lock her eyes on the turtle in the center of the pond. Like a Siren calling to Ulysses’ men, she started walking straight towards it. We all opened our mouths, but stopped, furrowing our brow in wonder if she was actually going to go “swimming” for it after several failed attempts the day before.
She was in a slow jog, her stare never breaking from the turtle head… and we watched as she started into the water, as if unaware the water was there. In fact, it wasn’t until she took the step that sunk her head under the water that she yelped and began splashing. Apparently her focus on this strange reptile had been so powerful she had failed to notice she was far into the pond.
My husband and Dean laughed as they reclaimed the floppy wet puppy from her mistaken trot into the water. We were all equally dumbfounded at her lack of acknowledgement that she had hit the water until she was completely under.