Necessity Trumps Instinct

We went ashore last night to play sailing trivia with some of our sailor friends.  When we arrived back home, Sasha, our 6 year old lab/retriever mix, had gotten into some beef pepper jerky that we had forgotten to put away as it was hidden under some magazine’s on the table in our galley.   Sasha was VERY happy to see us and maybe a little embarrassed that she doesn’t have opposable thumbs to clean up her mess.  There were little torn up baggy pieces all over the galley floor and she was anxiously awaiting her evening trip ashore.  I cleaned up and Syd took Sasha ashore for her evening ritual.

We wake up and it’s a cold blustery morning in St Augustine, the temperature has dropped to a mere 48 degrees, brrr, there are gale warnings in effect and the winds are high approximately 20-25 knots with gusts to 40.  Taking the dog ashore this morning, was not one of the first things we wanted to do!

Sasha is whimpering.  Syd and I go about our normal morning business, listening to the St Augustine Cruisers Net, running the refrigerator, making a pot of coffee, making the bed.  Sasha is following us very closely, giving us the “eye”, that desperate look of please read my mind “Mommy, Daddy, I have to go potty, I shouldn’t have eaten the jerky last night!”

We complete our morning routine and prepare for a dinghy ride ashore for our whimpering doggie.  Fowlies – check, scarf – check, little cotton gloves – check, sandals – check.  We begin to move the dinghy around the boat, preparing it for boarding and I look up just in time to see Sasha peeing on the foredeck, just where we had taught her to go!

The morale is, if your dog really has to go and you have taught her that it is okay to use the foredeck and an emergency arises, she will trust her instinct and make it happen! Gooooo Sasha!!!