Meet Yeltsin. He is an adorable five year old yellow lab that thinks he is a person (he certainly has me fooled). Y’all got a sneak peak of this this amazing canine in my post Teacher’s Pet because he is such a brown noser. Well, I thought I should properly introduce him to the blogosphere because dogs do deserve posts of their own, especially this one.

I first met Yeltsin five years ago as his first puppysitter. My friend Janis got Yeltsin a couple weeks early from the Guiding Eyes program and because she was still working her summer job before returning back to college, I leaped at the chance to watch this adorable yellow lab puppy. Who could turn down puppy dog eyes?? Although Yeltsin was a Guiding Eyes puppy and is quite smart, well trained and behaved, he decided that the working life was not for him. Now this is what I call an intelligent dog!

Due to the geographic distance between Janis and I, unfortunately I do not get to see these guys nearly as much as I would like.  However, I am always greeted with utmost joy and the best happy dance a girl could ask for whenever Yeltsin and I are reunited. I would like to say that it is me, but I think Yeltsin associates my visits with fun and exploration as usually when he sees me we are about to embark on some adventure.

In the spirit of adventure and since I have a love affair with the ocean and the beach,  I thought it was only proper to share this with my guy Yeltsin. This past weekend I was a lucky girl to have Janis and Yeltsin visit me at the beach in Rockaway. Since this was Yeltsin’s first time to the ocean and the waves from Hurricane Leslie were on fire, Yeltsin was optimistically cautious about getting his paws wet. However, a couple of whitewater waves rolling over his body later, Janis and I saw Yeltsin doggy paddle leap and jump the whitewater wave. Then, he surprised us even more and body rode the next wave in. Total surf dog in the making!!!

Well, although I do not have any photographic evidence of this (hint hint Mom: how about a GoPro or water housing for Christmas??), I do have some wonderful shots of Yeltsin enjoying life at the beach. Now that is what I call the dog days of summer at its finest.

Enjoy!!

[slideshow]

XOs

Kristen