Salty Dog

Salty Dog can refer to a number of things -- an old sailor; a quality restaurant near Mote Marine Aquarium on Lido Key -- but in this case, I am using it quite literally to refer to a canine that is seasoned.

How does a canine get seasoned?

By swimming in the ocean of course!

On Sunday, we decided to take Roscoe to the beach for the first time in his life. We never had the opportunity in Florida because the closest dog-friendly beach was over 40 miles away, a distance we didn't want to try in the Land Cruiser. Here, though, the beaches are much closer, and are all dog-friendly.

We only took Roscoe because we were uncertain of the challenges dogs at the beach would pose, and we didn't want to have to try to corral two soggy, sandy fleabags if things went badly. Roscoe generally is more tractable off the leash than Flash as well, so we figured he's be easier to learn with.

The first fifteen minutes or so went pretty well. Roscoe trotted along the tideline, occasionally rushing at the incoming waves and "attacking" them by biting at them furiously.

Things went badly though, when a pack of three feral dogs appeared on the beach, and Roscoe rushed right at them, running flat out into their midst. The largest of the three, a dog about Roscoe's size, didn't appreciate this approach, and started a fight. HB broke it up, and thankfully, Roscoe came out unscathed, but we realized we still have a few kinks to work out before we start taking any dog(s) to the beach on a regular basis.

Still, I'm pretty sure Roscoe enjoyed himself.