Where a dog spontaneously learns how to ride piggy-back.

Everything was twirling and whirling, so without much thought, I climbed onto the boy’s back to steady myself. I put my paws up onto his shoulders and hung on to regain my balance. I only intended to stay on for a moment, and then continue with my rescue plan, but he didn’t give me the chance! Now I’m not an expert on time, but I do know that a moment is longer than what he gave me! He immediately was down under the water and I was thrashing around again! I turned around, ready to head back for shore. My rescue mission wasn’t turning out as heroic as I had planned, so I aimed to recuperate back on firm ground. A shove from behind sent me reeling again. The girl thought I needed help, which perhaps I did by this point, and had pushed me forward to shore! It did not help a bit. It made the situation worse. Now I was even more confused. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed their mother swimming up, and you couldn’t imagine my relief! Maybe she would take care of the kids, allowing me to leave! But she passed by the kids and swam towards me. My body grew more and more tired by the second. I was about ready to give up until she pulled up beside me. In my desperation, I clung to her back, even more so than I had to the boy! She let out a sort of garbled cough, and plummeted beneath the surface! I nearly panicked out of my fright! Here I was, dying in the middle of what could very well have been an ocean, and in my plight, had killed the very person I was to protect! I was heartbroken. You can imagine my relief when she popped up again, not seriously harmed at all, but perhaps a bit out of breath. I struggled to keep my head out of the water, while the boy and the girl swam up again from the sides. I was thoroughly perplexed. Where was the shore? Which way was I supposed to go? All the while my legs were giving way, and I was seriously depleted of energy. I had no idea how much longer I could last. 

The boy and the girl finally got close. I tried to get on the boy’s back again, because it was obvious that he was a much better swimmer than I was. But instead, he pushed me towards the girl! I was so desperate, I couldn’t stop myself from thrashing around right next to her! I tried not to scare her, but it’s pretty hard not to when you’re terrified yourself. She was pretty shocked and shoved me toward a big rock in her fright. 

It turned out to be genius on her part. Just as I became confident that this was my last day on sweet Earth, I was sent hurtling towards that huge boulder. With my last ounce of energy, I scrambled up the surface. I had hardly gotten up when my legs gave way, and I plopped down right on top of the rock. It felt like I lay there for ages, but it was probably only a few moments until their mother came up and brought me over to the grass. 

I stayed there the rest of the day, until it was finally time to go back home. Luckily for me, the dad walked back to where we parked the vehicle and brought that huge car trundling back for us. We hardly had to walk at all to get back. If we did, I’m sure I would have just collapsed on the spot. I was too tired to even vomit on the way back! When we arrived home, everyone unloaded, and I went to my favorite spot on the porch and fell into a deep sleep. This adventure, starting with a faithful dog trying to guard her family, ended with the family saving her life. I still don’t know how they managed to do it.