NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE (the sequel)

Yesterday my human took some time away from the computer to play... and I had my second near-death experience.

Just like that fake-heart-attack-gone-wrong, I didn't mean for it to happen. We were just hanging out at a lake with our spotted friends Boka & Miley. The lake was cool, unsalted and tsunami-free. Near the shore, the water was shallow enough to run and splash around in. Further out, it was deep enough for the big dogs to swim around like fishes.

Even though Miley fell off a cliff and cut her paw open, we were all having the best time ever. We took turns playing with the Chuck-it stick and brother Dutch's rainbow ball. I out-splashed and out-tugged everyone. Maybe that brought out my competitive nature - not sure - all I know is that when it came time for someone to fetch a stray tennis ball we found, I decided that someone was going to be me.

The ball wasn't too far from shore. It seemed totally possible. And it would have been, if I had a snout. Y'see, balls and water and my lack of snout are a bad combination. It's pretty much impossible for me to capture a floating tennis ball - I just can't get my mouth around it. Every time I try (and I do try) the ball just gets pushed further away.

Which is exactly how I ended up swimming halfway across the lake.

I just really really wanted to be the one to fetch the tennis ball. I was focused, determined. Nothing else mattered. Not the scary boat coming towards me, not the scary deep water or impending tsunami. Not the sound of my human yelling "Puglet! Puglet!", or the magic words "Cookie?! Cookie?!". I just kept swimming. And the ball just kept getting further away.

Before I knew it, I was a long way from shore. I could hear panic in my human's voice. She hardly ever yells, but she was YELLING. This broke my concentration, made me nervous. I was starting to get tired. It was getting harder and harder to keep my head above water and it was still a long swim back to shore. I forgot all about the tennis ball... and began to fear for my life.

Well, I obviously didn't die. I swam to shore, coughed up a bunch of water and got a big giant hug from my human. When I mentioned hearing her yell something about a cookie, she gave me a whole bunch of them.