Tails On The Waterfront

Here's me and my buddy, Skeeter, watching some early morning shenanigans on the Manteo waterfront...there's always something. One morning, a couple of winters ago, there was this crazy dog--I thought it was a dog--in the water. It would swim up to the edge of the dock, I would peer over the dock (but very carefully with all legs splayed in case I needed to break into a commando crawl), and the dang thing would swim backwards real fast! It was teasing me! Now, I don't usually bark (just at bad commercials), but I barked at him. He just wasn't right. Dogs don't do the back stroke!

Well, it turns out it was an otter! And there were three of them. For a couple of early mornings, I'd see them lounging on a floating dock. I didn't take my eyes off of them while I passed by but they knew better than to tangle with me.

Anyways, I have a lot of friends I see most every day on the waterfront--Psi (I thought he was my boyfriend, but that's another post), Mikey and Tobey, Max, Charlie, Bear, Mango, Bo, Trooper, Abby (who's really a Rottweiller in a Yorkie costume) and Oliver. And then there are other friends who come to visit regularly from as far away as Charlottesville and Pinehurst, like Skeeter, Callie (see above, shameless hussy but I like her anyways), and Mr. Chips, Annie and Duncan. We have a grand time in the park and on the docks, running and chasing each other, digging holes in the sand or just lounging together in the sun! Having friends to play with is just the best!

The Park

The Dock

I don't know their back stories nor do I know if they appreciate (wouldn't be hip to ask) how lucky they are to have grown up on the Manteo waterfront or to visit regularly. Until I was almost two years old, I lived in the big city. Thinking back on it, city dogs have it pretty tough. I had to walk my peep on a leash all the time, cars and noisy buses roaring by, I never met any of the other dogs on my street because we were all kept in fenced-in yards, the local park had "No Dogs" signs posted, and the only wildlife I ever saw were squirrels and pigeons! Did see a dead rat once--freaked out the peep big time! Super fragrant! Hey, I gotta remember this Halloween to tell you the Big City Squirrel Post-Halloween story--early traumatic life event that totally explains my fierce determination to catch me a squirrel over at Festival Park!

Sooo, we're all so lucky blah, blah, blah...where was I? You've probably heard of Yappy Corner, right? Well, if you have a dog that likes to swim you have. Yappy Corner overlooks the Dog Beach. See photo from last winter--yeah, yeah, the red speck on the beach is me. Laugh all you want, but I'm toasty warm in my fleece jacket when the wind is whipping across that water!

The Beach & Yappy Corner

In the summer, peeps hang out on the benches while their dogs splash around in the water. My buddy Skeeter rules Yappy Corner. Moi? Non cheri, I don't swim--again, a story for another post.

Skeeter's pretty intense. Once, when I hadn't seen him for awhile, he was at Yappy Corner and spotted me coming toward him across the footbridge over the beach. He started running toward me but decided to take a shortcut--by going airborne off the footbridge!! Dropped like a rock. You know, it's good to be a girl ;-)

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