BETSY'S PLACE

On the World Wide Woof!

Snoods for  Dogs are here!! Great selection of fabric, custom made, and 100% of all profits are donated to Betsy's Cocker Place.

MY SWIMMING CAREER

My mom became friends with Deborah Lee Miller-Riley, head of Canine Water Sports and decided I was going to be a swimmer.  We went to a lake with Aunt Deborah and her Portuguese water dogs, Nikki and Kohl, to introduce me to the water.

I really hated it!  I was so afraid of the markers and the piers that kept moving around, I even thought I would get seasick.  They all totally ignored me while I barked and ran around looking for someone to save me from what I knew to be certain doom.  Eventually, I did get my feet wet.

Then I saw Nikki go into the water and was sure she would drown, so being the brave little cocker spaniel I am, I tried to save her--little did I know that I had performed my first rescue tow, and that they actually give ribbons to dogs who do this!

Then Mom started throwing toys into the water, and Nikki and Kohl went right in and retrieved them.  I thought about it a minute and decided if they could do it, so could I.  I did and that started my swimming career.  It was fun to show those big dogs that this little girl can get the toy also!

Next Mom took me to a Novice Water Training Workshop and we worked for two days on putting my head under water and retrieving, first in a bucket and then in the lake, and learning to swim.

I would not put my head into the lake to retrieve from underwater until I actually saw my Mom with her mouth in the water, and it was pretty funny !

After learning how to jump on and off boats (I need a lot more work on that), the next part of the training was doing what they call the "Team Swim," which is actually an "Aquatic Heel," which I thought would never happen since "Heel" is not one of my strong points, but believe it or not, here I am with Mom actually doing a team swim!

I am hooked !!  Every time I see water, I just want to jump in, whether it is the Jacuzzi, the pond, the pool  or the river!

To learn more about Canine Water Sports and water work and the fun you can have sharing the water with your dog, visit www.caninewatersports.com.

 

Want to help a cocker in need? 100% of your donations go directly to the care of cockers in need.

Betsy's Cocker Place, Inc. is a State of Connecticut not-for-profit  501(c)3 corporation.

   

Do you shop on-line? Betsy's Cocker Place, Inc. is an I-Give Charity--please sign up and shop through the "iGive.com" link below--up to 26% of the proceed from your shopping at places like Barnes & Noble, Land's End, Dell Computer, 1-800-Flowers, Best Buy, and many others, will be donated to Betsy's Cocker Place as your chosen charity. Click HERE for a list of all participating merchants and the percentage they will donate to us if you become a free member and shop on our behalf. We did not believe it either, but its true--please help us help the dogs!

Shop Amazon.com through our link and up to 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Cockers in need.  Thanks for your help.