We learned early in Emmet’s life that he loved nothing more than to swim. One of our difficulties with him was if he was allowed off leash, and there was any body of water nearby, he would end up swimming in it. One year, when he was maybe a year old, we decided to walk him around the route of the Reindeer Run, which goes around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. It had been cold that year, but there was a distinct lack of snow. Somehow, during our walk, Emmet’s leash disconnected from his collar. The moment it was loose, he took one look at us, one look at the lake, and took off for the lake. I’m sure he was convinced that he was going to get to go swimming. The end result was hilarious. He jumped onto the lake, clearly expecting it to splash in response to his flying leap, and instead, he started stumbling around the slippery ice. He looked bewildered by the fact that this water wasn’t swimmable. He darted around for a few moments trying to figure out how to swim in this lake. Finally, he gave up and with a call of his name, he obediently trotted back to us, totally disappointed that he didn’t get to go swimming.

Crazy, huh?

–Pete

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Emmet had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma in July of 2008. He died on September 27, 2008 of an unrelated condition called GDV, more commonly known as bloat. He was 10 years old. For a photo tribute of his life, click here.

Tags: Dogs, Emmet, Labrador Retriever, swimming