A few weeks ago my partner Graham took Flossie for one of her favourite walks around Shearwater lake.
It was rather eventful. Graham ended up soaking wet, and so did Flossie.
Just as Graham was about to clip on Flossie’s lead, a deer darted out right in front of her.
Flossie set off at breakneck speed, completely deaf to Graham’s calls and whistles. The deer sprinted through some bushes with Flossie in hot pursuit.
What neither deer nor dog realised was that on the other side of the bushes, nestled the lake. The very beautiful lake where swimming is prohibited.
The deer leapt into the lake and Flossie jumped in after it. I think they were both surprised when they landed in the water.
We didn’t know Flossie could swim, but she can. She is apparently a strong swimmer, and so was the deer.
They swam 30 metres out, Flossie ignoring Graham’s by now desperate calls as a cluster of spectators gathered open-mouthed on the bank.
The deer was three times the size of Flossie but this did not deter her. She paddled up close and put her paw on its back. We are not sure whether she wanted them to be friends.
By this stage Graham was concerned. Fortunately, he is an experienced open water swimmer, so he dived into the lake after them. He was fully dressed and wearing wellies.
He managed to separate dog and deer so they could swim as a threesome, Graham in the middle, with one arm on Flossie’s harness, the other on the deer. He had to kick his legs hard with his now water-filled wellies.
He encouraged the deer to swim where it could clamber out at a safe distance whilst he swam in tandem with Flossie to the shore.
Deer, dog and human were all unscathed, but I don’t think we’ll be returning to Shearwater for a little while.
As published in the Bath Chronicle, 24 January 2019
Suzy Pope is a certified copywriter and newspaper columnist specialising in pets, business and lifestyle. If you would like help with a writing project, please get in touch.
