The first time we brought Bugsy to the beach he was under a year. He was insane and still had a feral edge, meaning he was like a wild stallion and had no hope of getting off leash.
We hoped that he would settle next to the lounge chair and we'd all chill out. I still remember that at about 6:30 PM as we tried to eat dinner, he was still bouncing and driving us mad. We put him in his crate and he literally fell asleep before we could slide the locks.
I recall the looks we got on the beach and how exhausted Steve & I were.
Over the years, we progressed and found a system to release his energy, give us some relaxation & enjoy our trips.
One thing has been the same; Bugsy absolutely feels he should greet all dogs and all humans who come down the steps to the beach.
In the early days, people gave him a wide berth, he was clearly an oversized nutcase. Owners with high energy dogs were happy though, as he was always ready to play.
Fast forward to now.
He still wants to meet and greet all.
He still wants to run and play, although for MUCH shorter times with long naps and rest periods in between.
Nowadays though, he's the gentle giant and "a sweet baby". People stop and pet him and he just eats it up.
Like many dogs, you see that people connect to him. They want to know his name and find out his story.
We met a guy this morning and were just chatting a short time. We chatted about dogs and aging. After we wrapped up, he walked off and a couple walked down that had two golden retrievers. Bugsy LOVES goldens so he was desperate to play with them, doing all sorts of playbows and zoomies.
More than 30 minutes later, the man we had met earlier came back from his walk. He came over and said, "boy he wanted to play with those goldens, didn't he?" You could tell it made the man happy to see the old dog want to play.
Another guy stopped by to engage in chat and pet Bugsy 4x today; with breed guesses, a cracker, to tell us who he reminded him of, and to give B a pet & get a kiss.
Back in the day, the folks that stopped and chatted were people fascinated by B's physical stature and energy. Now they stop to love my sweet boy, who ignores the irritable dogs, who never barks, and who knows the routine so appears very well behaved.
Back in 2006 when we first stayed here with him, if you had told me how easy to manage he'd be when here, I could not have believed you.
Today, although I hate seeing how much he sleeps; I marvel at his behavior, manners, and demeanor. That big old love-filled heart is more accessible to everyone and he is ever so happy to share it.
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