Hank bends to peer pressure on the very first day at camp! I suppose he didn’t learn at dog obedience school that you don’t do everything your friends tell you to do. There’s Hank on top of that giant slide with no other option besides sliding down into Inks Lake. There goes Hank head first into the lake as we all stand there watching. He begins to thrash about coughing since he obviously got a huge mouth full of water going head first down the big slide. I realize immediately he’s drowning so I jump in and dog paddle quickly to his side. The lifeguard jumps in about the same time and together we get him out onto the bank. The lifeguard holds him so he can get some of that water out of his lungs. After sputtering a bit little Hank goes running over to the cousins with his tail tucked between his legs. He’s lucky he survived. I get real close to Hank and tell him it’s ok but that I hope he’s learned his lesson. Never let others influence you to do something you know you ought not to do!

After the scare of Hank’s near drowning we had to quickly set up shop under the big house and prepare to scout for our night meal. Felix was a big help. He begged some kids sweetly and they were glad to toss all their hot dogs to him. Turns out some of the same kids were at camp last year and they remembered our little cousin pack of dogs. I’m sure we’re gonna sleep in tomorrow morning. Whew, what a long day.

Mercy sakes alive, what’s all that noise? Whistles blowing, kids hollering, what sounds like a herd of buffaloes up above us in the big house was deafening. Maybe staying under the big house wasn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe we’ll make other arrangements later in the day. OK, all you pups lets rise and shine. Time to scout for food.

Breakfast was yummy just like the good old days. One thing for sure, these kids don’t eat much. Most of them don’t like eggs either. That’s a good thing for a pup. Yum. I love me some eggs! I got into the worst trouble of my life one year when I spent the summer with my cousin Radar the fox terrier. Radar lived on a farm and one of his favorite pastimes was raiding the hen house where he would steal the eggs from the hen’s nest. Raw eggs are just like caviar to a dog. He taught me how to sneak into that chicken yard and outrun the old rooster who stood guard over all the eggs. Those roosters have big claws on the backs of their legs called spurs. Radar told me to be really careful because if that old rooster spurred me on the neck I would bleed to death. Late one night Radar and I sneaked into the chicken yard. All the chickens were on their roost. That means they were pretty much all asleep. We both had feasted on several eggs when all at once out of the corner of that yard here came that old rooster. He was mostly running but every now and again those big wings would allow him to lift off the ground. I felt something brush my neck so quickly I was certain the old rooster had spurred me to certain death. Radar had jumped completely over my back allowing his toenails to scratch my neck in his attempt to escape that old rooster. I followed quickly behind Radar and got out of that chicken yard fast. I lost my taste for eggs for a good while after that near death experience! That was my first lesson in learning why I should not give in to peer pressure. Old Radar had been teasing me all day that I would be a big chicken if I didn’t go with him. I knew I shouldn’t go but I went anyway. Just like little Hank climbing that big ladder to the slide, I learned my lesson that night.