Beach baby

I was just out on the beach watching someone struggle to contain their young beagle. I laughed knowingly as I recall all too well trying to hold on to 12 month old 100lb Bugsy our first trip here. It was all so overwhelming back then and he was completely untrustworthy off leash or even dragging a line so I would be lying if I said it was relaxing.
He took one whiff of the sea and was horrified, the waves were freaky and not to be trusted. My only experiences had been with labs, so this giant puppy who was not happy with the sea was an oddity.
One thing he clearly did love was the sand, oh how the boy loves sand!
Back then when we were tasked with holding on to the leash the wild and frenzied zoomies were a chore, for us anyway.
We didn't come back for a couple of years, but we've been back regularly since.
Watching Bugsy evolve into a water dog has been a blast.
Today for the first time he was perfectly OK getting hit by waves that powered over his back.
He kept his eye focused on his toy and would pick it from the surf as it rolled by. I was so happy to see him at ease in the waves.
So from the giant pup that thought the sea was evil and smelled terrible to the dog that runs into the sea upon hitting the beach. Awesome.
Age, bad knees, and arthritis have slowed him and somewhere along the line he became a reliable off lead dog (well most of the time).
One thing never changes, the boy loves zoomies. Watching his berserk and looney runs, sand flying, legs going in different directions, ears flapping in the wind, I understand why every trip here we are asked how old he is and people remark "oh I thought he was a puppy"
Bugsy you keep running like your butt is on fire for as long as you can, you make us all feel young again as we watch!