This image of Ozzie got me thinking to remind y’all about water safety.
When your dog is on shore, a life preserver is of arguable value. Most dogs won’t swim past their comfort zone and most dogs know that distance and depth.
I mean, sure, occasionally an enthusiastic dog might over-extend itself after a Frisbee so be careful.
Dock jumpers might also appreciate a life preserver and especially if they’re old and might just fall in accidentally in a wake on the dock.
But DEFINITELY if you have the dog out on the boat – PUT THEM IN A LIFE PRESERVER.
Two reasons. And there may be more.
My dog Buster fell in and by the time we had the pontoon boar back around to gather him up, he was low in the water and starting to fail already. We were lucky we didn’t have to navigate around another boat or experience another 60 second delay.
Second case was a dog that fell overboard and got clonked on the head on the way in. THAT dog was out of it. And nearly drowned. And that dog HAD a life preserver! The difference was that it was held up in the water and it was retrievable. Everything ended well.
So get a preserver.
Doc Johnson
