Jake and the Beach

When we came to Barcelona almost 3 years ago we brought along our furry children as well.  After all, they were our first children and why shouldn't they enjoy this experience too?  Sadly, Sailor, who was not so healthy to begin with, only made it through the first summer before we had to put her down.  So for the last 2 1/2 years it's been the 4 of us and Jake.

And he lives the life here - after all, how many dogs do you know make the move to Spain?  And then while in Spain, do the occasional foray into places like France?  Most people I know don't get to do that.  He gets to live in a beautiful climate and while the summers can be a bit hot for him, he lives a nice life here.

However, one of the things we've really missed doing with Jake has been going to the beach.  Yes, I know, we live on the Mediterranean... why hasn't he gone to the beach?  Well put simply, we didn't have a way to get him there easily.  Notice I say easily.  There probably was a way for us to do it but required way to many steps and then packing up the kids, etc etc - it would have been a lot of work.

You see, while the FGC here (like our commuter rail at home) allows dogs, the metro/subway does not.  At least not big dogs.  I see the occasional small dog that you could carry on the metro but Jake is pushing 80 lbs, I can't even attempt to pretend he's small - he's not!

And while the beach isn't all that far from us - just about 3 miles away... it's too long for a dog his age (12) to walk.  And maybe he'd make it there but there is no way after playing in the water that he would make it back uphill those 3 miles to get home.

So when I got my new car a little over a week ago, one of the first things I did was to take Jake to the beach.  It's something I've wanted to do for a long time.  And while he was a little confused when we got out of the car with him, the moment he saw the beach and the water a smile came over his handsome face.

However, much to my chagrin, three years has taken a toll on my little puppy who's not so young any more.  While at home in the States, Jake would charge the waves, even on a sub freezing February day... these days, with some arthritis setting in and some breathing issues, he wasn't 100% sure what to do.  He waded, he played, but he didn't really swim.

Aidan loved taking Jake to the beach... til he realized Jake wasn't going to chase the ball...that's when he told me he'd be over at the jungle gym...

He didn't really go any further than this...

But he looks so happy!!

My proud, handsome pup!

Hopefully, now that we've made our first attempt at going back to the beach, we'll have repeated journeys and eventually Jake will find his love for swimming again.  And if not, at the least, he can enjoy rolling in the sand, chasing a ball and wading around at the edge of the beach.  So long as he's happy, so am I.

Besos,
Julie