Summer Dreaming

Karma's favorite place is the beach. I will never forget the first time I took her. I had been wanting to go to the beach for a few weeks, but my work schedule was heavy and wasn't allowing me much time off. When I finally had an afternoon off I was excited. The weather was perfect. Well, perfect for me. It was a little on the hot side for my sweet little smush-faced puppy. I debated bringing her with me all week. I felt guilty leaving her at home when she could come with me. But, I didn't want her to overheat.

At the beginning of the week Karma came in to work with me. She was due for a skin scrape. It was negative. It was the last skin scrape. Her mange was gone! I knew that we needed to celebrate. It was the tipping point We were going to the beach.

I found a local beach that was dog friendly. I got my cash together for parking. I packed a bag, making sure that I had supplies for Karma. I even bought a little water bottle that had a drop down bowl for Karma. With our gear in hand we made our way to First Landing State Park.

Having never been to that particular beach I really didn't know what to expect. I was more than pleasantly surprised. There were very few cars in the parking lot. Even though I knew that we were close to the tourist areas of Virginia Beach I felt that we were in a world our own. We made our way up the long track of boardwalk over the dunes and to the beach. It was warm, the sun was shining, and it was still early spring. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

Karma had her nose on overdrive the moment we got out of the car. I could feel her excitement. There were a couple of families enjoying the nice day, sitting out of the beach. There was no one in the water. It was much too early in the season for that, the water was still chilly.

The moment her feet hit the sand she looked back at me. I swear she smiled. She ran right for the water. And she marked her territory. She looked so damn proud of herself. We walked along the water for nearly half a mile. I could tell that she was getting tired. I set up camp and tried to get her to lay not he beach towel with me. But, by that time there were more people walking around. Being the social little butterfly that she is she had to say hello to everyone. She never sat still with me. I knew that if we ever came back to the beach it would be for walks only. No relaxation for me. But, I was perfectly fine with that. I love spending time with my little girl and if she was happy walking then I would be by her side.

It became a weekly tradition. If I didn't have to work Sunday morning we would go to the beach. We had to be there around the time the park opened because it would be too hot as summer came closer. She loved it. If there were still any ghost crabs still out when she got there she would chase them until the ran for their holes. Sometimes the tide would be completely out and she would run the the sandbars. She learned that she could swim. She loved sniffing around the sandbars that are normally covered by water.

Very rarely there would be no one else at the beach. On those few rare occasions I would take Karma to the far end of the beach, all the way to the military base. I would park myself and set up camp and let her off leash. She would run. Stop, sniff for a little while. Then she would run again. She always came back to me. Which was fantastic. She had never looked so free. I loved sitting back and watching her.

She would be exhausted when we got home. No matter how long we were at the beach. She would run to the water bowl for a long drink. Once she had her fill we headed to the shower. She tolerated her bath, but she always looked like she felt better once she was drying. The amount of sand I would get off her was just crazy.

A few months ago we moved further away from the water so our beach trips started to decrease in frequency. To make matters worse Karma's knees have gotten worse. Karma has was is called bilateral luxating patellas. That is fancy veterinary speak for her knee caps don't stay in place like they should. It is not uncommon for Boston terriers, even Boston terrier mixes like Karma, to have this condition. She just can't handle long 3 mile walks in the sand right now. One day, she will have her knees fixed and I look forward to taking her back after her knees heel. I can just see her little face light up as she runs to the water.