Science has measured and discussed the positive and negative effects of ions for years. I’ve heard that the ocean shore carries a different ionic charge, which can be energizing for many critters, and as proof I give you our Edie girl:
On the morning of our third day at Tomales Bay, we headed out to exercise the dogs. It was still a little cool as we drove out to one of Point Reyes’ beaches. When we got there, we had the beach to ourselves; I’m always impressed with how high the waves are. It seems to me as if the water is higher out where the waves form than it is along the waterline itself.
Edie was just nuts from the get-go. There’s something about the beach that fires that little girl up beyond belief.
She ran loop-de-loops, tongue lolling out, and took off for the hinterlands then came charging back
Ernie tried to give chase upon occasion, but since his injuries when Edie rolled him a few years ago, he’s no longer a sprinter.
Boy chases girl — sounds familiar, huh?
If girl escaped boy this often, we wouldn’t have a population crisis.
We ran and chased her some, but the difference was Edie had channeled the Energizer bunny. She just kept going and going.
When she ran down into the water, Mrs. O said, “she’s not getting back into the truck.”
And she was quite a (happy) mess.
At times she outran the camera lens.
And still she kept going.
I took 35 pictures down on that beach, and this is just a sample of them. I’ve put them in chronological order, except that the first Berserker image up there was actually one of the very last I shot; here’s the larger image of Edie girl toward the end of our walk (and her run).
As we left, we put her in the back of the truck, to keep the wet sand out of the backseat. Softie that I am, however, I opened the back window so she could see us. Oops! She shouldered the window open and tried to squeeze into the cab, bringing a lot of wet sand with her. I forced her back into the bed of the truck, half-closed the window, and on our ride back I think she came to like being back there, as she got better sniffs.
As far as the ionic effect, the web sites say positive ions cause the ill winds, scirrocos, mistrals, the Santa Anas and bitter winds. But down at the beach it’s negative ions that have such a positive effect. After seeing how happy our Edie is when she hits the beach, you don’t have to convince me.
I pretty much feel the same down by the water, so I know exactly how Edie feels in those photos!
And what fantastic shots – the joy and energy just radiates out of them.
These photos made me smile. Edie and Ernie are adorable.
I enjoyed this very much. Wonderful shots that made me smile. I wish I had that kind of energy and enthusiasm.
I regret never taking our Genevieve to the ocean. Now that she’s blind, I don’t feel safe about letting her run around there.
I took my last dog, Samantha, to the ocean way back in 1987. She was almost 16 years old, slow and with problems. She went crazy, totally loved it, and tried to leave me, taking off behind some runners. It was awesome.
Woo, yb, and Robin–thanks all. It was great fun to watch, and having it up on the blog makes it fun to re-live. Being down on the beach really was refreshing–we don’t do it often enough.
J, you know best for Genevieve. But I wonder if she wouldn’t enjoy it, even now. Remember, we are more visual–dogs use other senses more than we do. Is it your concern that she might go in the wrong direction and get caught by a wave? She might even enjoy a walk on the leash.