French Dip (2010 Version)

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend.  It was hot as blazes here, over 90F every day since Friday.  Still it was beautiful out, and it seemed to be a shame to hide out in the A/C.  Lucky for us our pal Courtney opened her pool on Friday, so I carted the Frenchies over to help.

Now as you may know, Frenchies (and bulldogs in general) are notorious for not being able to swim.  Some can, but most sink like a rock.  So before we even thought of going near a pool, I made sure the kids were properly outfitted to be safe!  Here we all are ready to go for a dip.

First they checked out the deck around the pool, making sure it was free of anything edible (or inedible but small enough to pick up and chew on).

Then we got in s-l-o-w-l-y.  The water was still a bit on the chilly side, so this was only partially for the Brutus' benefit.

Once he got his tootsies wet, it was time to test buoyancy!

I don't know if Brutus can float, but his vest can & he was keen on paddling.  OK, buddy, let's see what you can do:

Wow!  He was fast!  Look closely and you can see he is actually leaving a wake!

Since this was the first time truly swimming for Brutus (the wading pool doesn't count), I figured a few minutes was plenty.  Carmen had been watching eagerly from the deck and looked ready to give it a try.

Wow - I had no idea water bowls could be so big!!

So now it's Carmen's turn:

Need to take this one step at a time.  This is actually her first time getting wet!  At 17 weeks, I haven't even bathed her yet (I'm slightly embarrassed to admit...).

So far so good.  Let's see if Carmen got the swimming gene too:

I would say so - her legs were paddling before she was even in touching the water! Not sure if it has something to do with the lifevests, or if their stout little bodies are just that powerful, but these frogs really can motor in the water!!   Wanted to keep Carmen's maiden voyage short and sweet, so it was soon time to dry off.

Refreshed from her dip, Carmen took the opportunity to spread out on the deck and work on her tan

Oh, pool boy....

Tired from their swim and basking in the sun, brother and sister snoozed side by side!

I think it was a positive first aquatic outing for both of the Frenchies, and I enjoyed taking a dip as well.  Thanks to Courtney (who obviously doesn't mind finding short, black hairs in her pool filter) for all the work to get the pool ready, we can't wait to come back for another swim!