This week’s innerview-ee is a fellow water-fan, Seger Tillery. (Us English Springer Span-yulls are Super Good Swimmers.)
Seger’s a Chock-lutt Lab, an he suggested meetin’ over at that place on the river where humans – an sometimes their pooches – launch their paddle boards.
It wasn’t the usual innerview, but it sounded like fun. Seger’s plan was to take his ponTOON boat over to his favrite eye-lun an he’d show me around an we could play a liddle bit an then have a nice yap.
We parked under a tree an walked along the shore lookin’ for Seger an his ponTOON. Pretty soon we spotted a lady throwin’ a ball or somethin’ out into the river an this joyful, drenched poocheroo in the midst of a mighty leap to retrieve it, hollerin’ “COWABUNGA!!” just before splashdown. It had to be Seger. They repeated the game a couple more times as we approached.
Seger exited the water, shook vigorously, then trotted over for the Wag-an-Sniff.
“Seger, I presume,” I said. “I’m Bonzo (call me Bonz!) an this is my assistant. You sure get some height on those leaps!”
“Thanks! Yeah, Water Fetch is one of my faves! I could do it all day. This is my Mommy, Anna. My Daddy, Michael’s backin’ the boat in. Come’on!”
Seger headed to the dock an we followed. His Mom an my assistant sat on the comfy padded seats along the side, an his Dad stood in front with the WEEL! Seger headed for the back, front paws on the rails. “Come’on, Bonz, we can yap from here an see a lotta Cool Kibbles stuff too!”
I grabbed my notebook an joined him. The breeze felt nice an cool on my nose and frifflin’ my ears a liddle. I felt sorta like an AD-m’rull! Or a PIE-rat! Then, remindin’ myself I was On The Job, I turned to Seger: “Tell me how you found your Furever Famly. An about some of your advenchurs.”
“Sure, so, Mommy an Daddy got me when I was just a liddle pupper, a coupla years ago, because Life’s Better With A Dog! I learned all that Basic Dog Stuff pretty quick cuz I’m (not to brag) Really Smart and I like to have TASKS.
“I remember this one time, when I was very liddle, Daddy was teachin’ me to FETCH the noos-paper from the driveway an bring it to Mommy.
“The paper was covered with plastic an about as long as me and I couldn’t wrap my puppy-size mouth around it. Plus, I was really short so I hadda, like, DRAG it! So I dropped it a lot.
I think Daddy musta said, ‘Go give it to mommy!’ about a zillion times, an it felt like a Very Long Way from the end of the driveway all the way up to the house an into where Mommy was. I’d drag it, then accidently drop it. Then pick it up again an drag it some more. It was WAY easier when me an my mouth got much bigger.
“Anyway, Mommy an Daddy had this Totally Crispy Biscuits GOAL to explore every one of the 103 waterways in the Entire State of FLOOR-ri-duh in their ponTOON boat an do some campin’ along the way. (They call it Glampin’. I don’t know why.) An see lotsa intrestin’ stuff.
I’ve been havin’ advenchurs with ’em pretty much my whole life so far. An guess WHAT?”
“What??”
“We’re probly gonna make our Goal by this very Sep-TEM-ber!!” he declared with pride.
“Isn’t that Seriously Crispy Biscuits??”
“The crispiest!” I concurred.
“An there’s usually a buncha other humans an pooches who join our trips, too. It’s called RiverRoaminwiththeTillerys. That’s why they hadda have a dog who loves the water, which us Labs Totally DO. So here I AM. I’m the Offishull CAP-tain of the Fleet. I grew up on the boat an in the water. I figure I’ve probly been wet a lot more than I’ve been dry.”
“Woof, Seger, that is SO Pawsome. I love swimmin’ in my pool at home, but I’ve NEVER been inna ackshull RIV-er!”
“Well, Bonz,” Seger said, “when we get to my EYE-lun, we can play in the river if you Want!”
“Umm. Sure!” I gulped, noticing how much bigger the river was than my pool. An with no helpful steps. Plus, it was MOVING!”
“You probly make a lotta intrestin’ pooch pals on your advenchurs.” I smoothly segued.
“Woof, yes! I’ve made lotsa Cool Kibbles poocheroo an human frens. There’s Buddy, an Uncle Don, an Dixie, an Brady, an Lady an my Best Bud, my human brother, Charlie, he’s WAY cool.”
“I bet you’ve been to lotsa intrestin’ places,” I commented.
“Totally. There’s the Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve; an what’s called the Pan Handle cuz that’s what it looks like onna MAP. An St. Augustine. It was as liddle cold an drizzly there. But still fun. There was a buncha white pelly-cans bobbin in the water an I got so excited I yelled COWABUNGA an jumped right in with ’em. I found out they’re kinda Stuck Up.
“I also like ridin’ in our car, crusin’ for chicks. But I’m very puh-lite. PLUS, I did the responsible thing and had the No Puppies Pruh-see-jure.”
“A wise decision,” I agreed.
Seger’s stories were so intrestin’ the time went by fast an we were pretty close to his favrite eye-lund when suddenly there’s this gi-NOR-mus Clap of Thunder! We turned an looked up an there was a big ol’ Black Cloud ahead, of the ominus variety. Then it started to pour cats an … well, you know. So we hadda head back. The breeze felt nice an cool, an we were all as soaked as Seger by the time we arrived back at the dock.
Headin’ home, I wasn’t disappointed cuz, even though I didn’t get to see Seger’s eye-lund, I still hadda great advenchur, an I promised myself (if I ever got the chance) to jump in the river hollerin’ “COWABUNGA!” Just once.
