Friday, May 23, 2008

No Tippecanoe and brought the Puggies too

Yesterday, we went canoeing and we were feeling brave so we decided to bring the pugs along with us.  Benjamin & Henry had been on a few row boat trips before with us in Maryland and always did a great job, but this was Luna’s first boating experience and our first boating experience when being outnumbered by pugs.

It was a very cloudy day and it was actually drizzling when we set sail.  We scheduled an early morning trip in the best interest of the pugs and the clouds made for perfect weather for them.

Before we launched we got Henry & Luna suited up in their life vests and securely attached their leashes to their life vests.  When we were putting on Benny’s life vest the zipper broke!  There was a little bit of panic because we clearly did not have an extra life vest and we couldn’t really rig his vest to make it work.  So needless to say, I was very paranoid about Benny not having his vest.

The pugs all hopped into the boat without hesitation and before I knew it we were floating down the creek.  The creek was very calm so we took our time to get the pugs all setup.  We laid out towels in the bottom of the boat so that they could be cozy and not have to rest only on the metal floor.  We also filled up a water bowl for them so they had access to water.  They rocked the boat a tad in the beginning when they were trying to figure out the best lookout points, but they settled fairly quickly.  As we paddled, they gazed at the passing trees and watched the water passing them by.

After a while, they pretty much tied themselves together with their leashes.  This was causing some problems so we took off their leashes.  We were confident that they were not going to jump or fall off the boat at that point so we took the life jackets off Henry & Luna as they were making them very hot.  This is the when the pugs truly settled down and relaxed.  True to form, Benjamin propped himself up against the side of the boat.

It wasn’t long until, the pugs were sound asleep.  As we were floating down the river all we heard was the sound of water flowing, birds chirping and Henry snoring.  It was so serene.

Luna was the same height as the metal bars running across the canoe.  When I first saw this picture, I thought, Luna must have joined the witness protection program.

All in all, I think the pugs had a great time.  I know I sure did.  I was very proud of them for doing such a great job.  They didn’t hesitate to get on the boat and once on they settled down fairly quickly and kept their paws and heads inside the boat at all times.  Too bad every morning doesn’t start with such a peaceful outing.