Bad girl

Goldie chasing birds
Originally uploaded by suebobdavis

The winter storms turned the beach that Goldie and I run on from a nice wide sandy stretch like this photo to a field of cannonball-sized cobbles.

I let her off leash anyway. She can run through the rocks like they don't exist and she needed some exercise.

The problem came when I tried to get her back. She totally ignored my yells and whistles, and when I tried to catch her, slipping and sliding over the rocks and soaking my shoes, she just danced away.

Like a bad toddler, she always kept me within sight, but kept moving further and further away as I moved toward her.

My calls turned from "Goldie, Goooooooldie," to "You g**d*mn piece of sh*t dog!"

Finally I turned into a smart dog mom.

I clambered up the bank into the sea grass and crouched down so she couldn't see me.

(Of course a hiker suddenly appeared, startled to see a big fat woman kneeling as if she were praying to an oceanic Mecca. I'm glad I didn't think to try and explain to him - "I'm hiding from my dog..." )

Within 3 minutes, Goldie was running along the path, panicked, looking for me.

Ha ha. She DID miss me. Mom wins again.