Me, unsuccessfully attempting to hold up Gus for a photo.
I am an absolute water child. My parents tell me that even as a baby, I wanted to stay in the bath as long as possible. So, I was hoping that when we got our pomsky, Gus, that he would want to come along with me on all kinds of adventures - but especially that he would love swimming. Thank goodness, I lucked out! He definitely steals socks and constantly begs for a bite of whatever I’m eating (I always give in, Walter never does) but I’ll gladly take that with a dog that swims with me.
Cleveland is a fairly dog-friendly city and it is an incredibly resource for us. However, I don’t always want to go somewhere where there are a bunch of other dogs. Gus is part husky and it shows. He is SO strong for his size and pulls on his leash to go say “hi” to anything that moves. He is friendly to a fault, and sometimes I just want to enjoy being with my pup instead of spending that time talking to the owners of every other dog in sight.
Columbia Park is the answer to all of our problems! Located on Columbia in Bay Village, Columbia Park has a parking lot right across the street from its Lake Road entrance. It is a small park space, but it’s everything that we need. There’s a single picnic table on the park side, as well as an observation deck looking down at the beautiful waterfall that leads down to the beach. There are steps to get down, and I have been there on days that the tide is so high that you can easily get splashed by a rogue wave and have to climb down for access to the beach, but it is SO worth it.
It is only a small stretch of sand, but truly it is exactly what we need. Gus loves to climb all over the waterfall, which collects into a pool of crystal clear water. Walter calls it the “kiddie pool” for when Gus doesn't feel like paddling, but wants to cool off.
Sorry for the blurry picture, everyone, but it’s impossible to not get an action shot of him on this thing.
This past Sunday, we took Gus to go swimming at dusk and there were about two other dogs there with their owners, but aside from Gus trying to get in on their game of fetch we had no real problems. I typically go after work on the weekdays, and we have the place to ourselves. The park is a public space and requires that your dog is leashed while they are roaming the beach, and that you clean up anything that you leave behind. Other than that, let those babies go nuts! Gus loves being able to be free in the water and so do we. It’s a match made in heaven.
Note: I am going to include a picture for everyone of what Gus looks like when he is dry, because I feel as though I am doing him dirty by posting all of these pictures where he looks more like a wet rodent than the aspiring dog food model that he truly is. Here is the two of us in drier times.
