Number58

Harry has always been one very laid back pup, so the idea of chilling out while on holiday came naturally to him. His favourite pastime (apart from hurling himself round the beach like a mad dog) was to just lie in the sun and take in all the new sights, sounds and smells around him.

His favourite spot was down by the estuary, where he could just lie on the grass and watch. Once he got himself settled it was difficult to get him away again and he would lie there for ages fascinated by the boats bobbing around on the water.

One particular evening the tide was fully out, so we took Harry down on to the sand for a stroll. Harry was beside himself with excitement – here were the things that floated on the water, right in front of his nose. Each one was given a thorough inspection, and any attached seaweed was duly pulled off the exposed hull.

Harry undertook this task so seriously, and with such gusto, that he could probably get a job in a boat yard.

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After the first initial shock of walking on sand Harry became more and more confident on the beach and started to think of it as his own personal playground. He was quite happy to spend a leisurely afternoon or evening mooching around, investigating every piece of flotsam and jetsam that could be found.

Everything had to be sniffed at and prodded with his paws and then put in his mouth for further examination. Shells and pebbles were always examined thoroughly and tested for crunchability, but seaweed was definitely his favourite, especially the long stringy bits which he loved to carry round. On one occasion though, Harry’s natural curiosity did get him into trouble. The scuttling crab than ran right in front of him didn’t take too kindly to being picked up – Harry dropped it with amazing speed and a look of total horror on his face. We’re still not quite sure who got the biggest shock – Harry or the poor crab.

Occasionally pieces of driftwood would be tested out and crunched, but sometimes they were just too big – even for Harry.

Harry’s been on his first holiday. We took him to the coast for a week so we could all have a much needed break.

The first day we took him down to the beach he wasn’t so sure about the sand, it was all soft and kept moving under his feet, but he soon got used to it. The sea however, was a different matter. Every time he tried to sniff it and investigate, the waves would rush up the sand and slap him on the nose, so he decided it was best avoided.

Then at the weekend his best friend came to visit. The two of them love to splash around in muddy puddles together, but Harry was still a bit wary of the sea – so off they went to a huge pool left by the outgoing tide. It was there that Harry had his first lesson in deep sea paddling – from an expert.