My wife and I accepted long ago that our fur baby Rosie will never be the Minnesota dog we'd hoped she'd be.

A couple years ago -- shortly after we'd adopted her -- we brought Rosie on a family vacation to Clear Lake, Iowa. We stayed at a house on the lake and spent several days floating and boating. That was Rosie's first time at or near water, and we had really hoped she'd take to it. She didn't. We threw her ball -- her favorite toy -- in the water hoping she'd fetch it; she wouldn't. We'd float and coax her to come join us; she'd run along the shore and bark for us to come back.

Over the past couple years, we've reintroduced her and exposed her again to water in the forms of ponds and pools, and -- while she's warmed up a bit -- she generally continues to show a disinterest in getting wet. Which is why what she did this past 4th of July left Katie and me shocked, amazed and entirely impressed!

Adam Rozanas
Adam Rozanas
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Some friends invited us to spend the 4th of July with them at their lake house near Annandale. We brought Rosie along and -- after spending several hours eating and chatting with guests -- decided to get into the water. I was launching my wife off in a kayak when, suddenly, I noticed Rosie was beside me in the water! As Katie began paddling in her kayak, Rosie began paddling after! Shocked, I called after Katie, who turned around and began laughing in disbelief! We couldn't believe that the same dog that had hated water so much in the past was now willingly swimming in the lake! Curious to see what Rosie would do if I was on the water, too, I grabbed a paddle board and joined the pair. Sure enough, Rosie continued paddling around, albeit a bit wildly and panicked. Seeing her tiring, I called my dog over to the paddle board and pulled her up onto the paddle board with me where she contentedly stood balancing herself. My wife and I were absolutely tickled pink. To add further to our pet pride, as we paddled around the lake several people commented on what a great water dog Rosie was and asking if she always did this well. "This is a first for us!" we admitted. They couldn't believe it, either!

Adam Rozanas
Adam Rozanas
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I don't know if a "proud pet parent moment" is a thing, but we definitely had one this past weekend! Have you had a proud pet parent moment before?

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