Tonight after work Mom groomed me and bathed me. Then she took me up to the big, heart-shaped tub in her bathroom and stood me in it. Then she plugged up the drain and turned on the water. It kept getting deeper and deeper. Finally, my feet floated off the bottom and I panicked. I tried to claw my way out – you should see Mom’s foot – while my heart was beating double-time.
“They drown old dogs!” I kept thinking as I kept trying to live. “Why didn’t anyone tell me that they drown old dogs?”
Finally, through the panic, I heard Mom using her soothing voice encouraging me to be calm and felt her hands holding me up. My heart rate started slowing back to normal and I found I could just barely touch the bottom. After I had settled down, Mom pushed a button that made the water swirl around me. “Hmmm,” I thought, “This feels pretty good with the water just warm enough that I can barely feel it except for it swirling around my body.”
She told Dad she plans to do this again tomorrow. I hope I remember how good it felt and don’t get afraid again, especially now that I know that nobody is trying to drown me.
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 