On Sunday we took the water dog to the water. We drove to Reeder Beach on Sauvie Island in order to see if Boris the dog would like to frolic in the Columbia River. If Labrador determinism held true, he would take to the water like a duck.

Which he more or less did. Being Boris, he had to get a touch freaked out by the wavelets that lapped the shore after boats passed. He tried a few play bows to see if that was the correct reaction towards them. Once he got past that he enjoyed jumping in and out of the river, especially to retrieve sticks we threw in. He can't yet swim, so sticks thrown too far were mournfully abandoned. But it was fun for all and I'm amazed that after almost two decades in Portland this was my first trip to Sauvie Island. The flat landscape of small farms is strongly reminiscent of rural Holland (what there is of that), if you ignore the horizonal sight of the West Hills, Cascade Range, and the pure white heads of Mts. St. Helens, Adams, and Hood that were all visible on this bright sunny warm late winter day.

Then Monday of course I ended up taking Boris to the emergency vet clinic. Not directly related to the Sunday drive -- he had intestinal difficulties caused by a diet of pebbles and bone. No more bones for Boris. But he was also holding his tail straight down between his legs, which we thought was concomitant with his snappish defense of his belly. Turns out now that an enema cleared the intestine and the tail is still limp that he has "cold water tail". Defined by the AKC as when "[t]he tail of the dog hangs down from the tail base or is held horizontal for three or four inches and then drops down. A flaccid tail episode appears to be a painful, but relatively benign affliction that can occur after swimming" or other exertion. Poor puppy. But life is beginning to return to the tail, so joy will soon return.