Apart from myself and Ty there are 3 very strange creatures that live in the garden. I suppose they are birds but these do not fly, they sleep in a little hut at night and then laze around the garden all day, pecking for food. I stand outside their hut each morning while mum lets them out and throws food down for them. I cannot help myself, even though she tells me not to, I just have to chase them.
It would be great if they would play with me but instead, they start clucking and squawking and making a fuss about nothing. Mum tells them I just want to play, but ever since a few feathers got in my mouth by accident, no-one seems to believe it, most of all the hens.
I had just grabbed the feathers to stop one of them from running away and now everyone thinks I wanted to eat them, which is just not true. They are very unfriendly, and do not even speak to me, so I might as well give up trying to be their friend.
I was simply watching them one day, pondering all of this, when mum came and picked me up. She put me on top of a towel, inside a large cream bag. Where was I going? Everyone else seemed to be coming as well today. I could tell this was going to be exciting. They were taking bags with towels, food and drinks inside them. Where could we be going?
We drove for about 20 minutes and then all of us got out the car. They put me down on my long lead. The air smelled much different here. It was very fresh and clean. The floor sloped down and was crunchy and made of sand. I could hear birds (seagulls) cawing at the tops of their voices. There was loads and loads of space but no green grass to play on, which seemed odd.
We walked quite a way and found out the place is called a beach. Along one edge is a vast area of cold water, but before you reach the water the sand becomes wet and spongy. I could not decide if I liked it, because I only have very short legs and the cold water feels strange on my paws. Anyway, they let me off my lead because they said that there were no cars around and therefore it was safe.
Everyone played with me and Ty and it was great fun. After a while the people went into the water and Ty played in it with them. I stayed on the edge and they tried to coax me in but I felt small and nervous. My mum kept quite close to me and called my name, trying to get me to go to her. I went further and further in and then ran back to the beach. It was wet and cold. I wanted to go in with them but could not pluck up the courage, so barked along the edge, trying to tell them to come out.
Mum was walking along the edge and we came to a place where the wet sand was higher than the water, and there were rocks with pools of water around them. Mum walked through a pool and sat on a rock in the middle and called to me to come to her.
I plucked up courage and stepped in but, help! What was happening? There was no floor under my paws. I moved my short legs as quickly as possible, instinctively trying to keep my head above the water. Mum began to clap and say, “Clever girl Crystal. Well done. See, you can swim.”
She called to tell the others that I was swimming. Just as I was beginning to tire, she bent down and picked me up. I was very cold and shivery, my little tail was tucked beneath my legs. Sand seemed to be everywhere. It was lodged in my ears, my eyes, between my paws, everywhere.
I think mum was a little worried then because she hurried back to the beach and wrapped me in her towel, giving me a good rub at the same time. Shauna (mum’s nice grand-daughter) came out of the sea and played with me, Ty and a frisbee and we soon got warm again.
Now I was beginning to enjoy things! I love to play, play and play. After that we all shared the food and they had brought some water and a dish especially for us dogs. We stayed on the beach most of the day and after that first time I always look forward to going back.
