Arrrrr, he be walkin the plank!

As I have said, just before we left for Indiana, Blondie looked like this:


But that splint was on the wrong leg. A second opinion prescribed pain medication and lots of swimming, which Blondie did beautifully from land:

At sea, however, getting into the water was slightly more difficult.


We got him a doggie life jacket so that we could pull him out of the water by its handle:


But he still had trouble jumping into the water from height of the pontoon. The Gacks took action. A stick of 1x8, a few carpet scraps, an old life jacket, and some staple-gunning later...


we attached the creation to the side of the boat.


And, as my niece likes to say, ta-DAA! After a few minor adjustments, Blondie was getting on and off like a pro!


We have given Blondie some new middle names. Now his name is Blondie Seadog Sparrow, plus my last name, followed by Chris's. We were inspired by Chris's cousin's daughters' dog, who goes by Blackie (he looks a lot like Blondie, apparently), but whose full set of given names is Beethoven Blackie Christine.