D Day and B Day

I woke up very excited today because Sam our flat coated retriever was arriving from England and Jamie did too because it was her 11th Birthday.

Kim and I have been very worried about Sam coming – will he be seasick, will his claws scratch the hatches or damage the deck and most importantly will he wear his boots? Consequently the day started with me heading off to the local DIY store for vinyl flooring to cover the inside of the boat, Astroturf for Sam to pee on during long passages and clear vinyl sheets to cover the hatches. The flooring worked a treat and as it is cushioned is rather nice on our feet too. The clear vinyl works OK when covered with clear sticky back plastic to hold it around the edge of the hatches – Astroturf I haven’t managed to get yet.

Jamie’s birthday celebrations started last night with dinner at a very good Asian restaurant and continued this morning with present opening (iPod Nano + cover and iTunes voucher, box of chocolates, makeup and a gold plated leaf necklace plus of course the hoard of clothes already received from Gran and Aunts) and a rather nice Sacher Torte from Carefour as her birthday cake. I had planned to take her and Alex to a water park but with having to run errands and lay flooring I decided we would have to put that on hold for a day or two.

After a number of logistical planning phone calls (apparently the 27metre long dog trailer can’t be turned around in anything much less than the length of a football pitch) Sam’s couriers arrived. I met them at the top of the marina and jumped in the cab to show them where we were. As soon as Sam heard my voice he started woofing at me (to be fair, he does have a lot to complain about). He was obviously very pleased to see us all and also fairly hot which we dealt with by hosing him down and making a token effort to clip him with the noddy clippers we bought yesterday.

Our plan was to get him used to his “All terrain non-marking” boots and then take him for a boat ride. The boots worked surprisingly well except that he spent the first little while prancing like a dressage horse. He also seemed quite comfortable on the boat and we were able to keep him on it with the occasional “NO” if he got too near to the steps at the back and appeared to be heading for the water.

A short ride out into the bay, down with the anchor, on with the wetsuit (me) and Sam had his first swim. We have a couple of things for him to retrieve and I came in to get him confident in getting out using the ladder. Unfortunately, although he is losing weight the ladder is a bit tough and at the moment he needs a hand getting out. I think this will get easier with practice and as he loses weight. Sam enjoyed his swim and on the way back started walking confidently around watching what we were doing.

After dinner on the boat we all got in the dinghy and motored into the marina restaurant and shopping area which is quite crowded. I think Sam sees the dinghy as just another type of car and he just relaxed and lay in the bottom. He must be very tired as he completely ignored all distractions including red Indian street musicians, an animal impersonator and a fully costumed planet of the Apes character.

He is now peacefully asleep in his travel cage. Jamie had a happy birthday and Sam a happy return.