He is cute and fairly harmless and he seems to know it very well, indeed.
In recent weeks Joey and I have been going back and forth over the possibility of packing Henry into the Boundary Waters with us (and, subsequently, with the entire family) when we go in August of next year.
Henry is thrilled at the prospect of chasing humans, and maybe even an otter or two, for an entire week.
My mother, however, is less than thrilled. Her main concerns are:
1. Henry will drown.
2. Henry will capsize a canoe.
3. Henry and Alex sharing a tent will put the total number of tents up to 5, thereby making it difficult to get a campsite.
4. Henry is too high energy and will probably be annoying.
Poor mom.
I shall, therefore, attempt to assuage any concerns related to Henry's potential back-to-nature adventure.
1. Henry can swim. And, even if he forgets how, they make doggie life preservers which we will purchase for Henry and force him to wear at all times when he's in a canoe. I know he will hate it.
2. Henry is only 12 libs, so the chances of him capsizing a 60 lib canoe holding probably 100 libs of gear and 250 libs of human seems to be physically impossible.
3. The Kid can sleep in a canoe tied that we have tied to the shore (we'll throw a tarp over it in case of rain) and that eliminates the need for an additional tent site. And we can stake Henry out by the latrine so he can keep bears away.
4. Yes, Henry is high energy and annoying. I can't refute this one at all so I'm not even going to try.
However. Additional positive elements for Henry coming to the Boundary Waters are:
1. He's pretty hilarious and almost always provides comic relief.
2. He actually seems to generate energy by expending energy so he's kind of like a walking nuclear power plant. We can use him as a power source if need by. (Andrew, get to work on plans for that one.)
3. All that back to nature stuff will probably wear him out, so he'll be pretty low-toned and lay around expecting rubs a lot. This will be an advantage to anyone who happens to get bored because instead of working or throwing rocks in the lake they can scratch Henry's tummy.
Thus, I rest my case.
4 comments:
While I agree that Henry in Boundary Waters could be pretty fun, Dave and I have recently become expert dog-sitters as we just spent a week with my parent's dog. So, if you decide to leave him in civilization instead, our doors are always open to a dog as cute as Henry. :)
Grandma has asked me, and I can not provide the answer, so, in turn, I ask you, "How is it that a bear can distinguish between a marshmallow and Henry?"
sister, i would have you know that i recently read an article about a bear coming into camp because he was attracted to the scent of their dog...i remind you of my aversion to bears.
Thank you, Ashley. Jenna,you had neglected to list my 5th reason, that being the potential of Henry as Bear Bait. However, Ashley Nicole has reminded you of it.
My fear of Henry capsizing a canoe is not really that HE would capsize the canoe. I fear that in his tendency to high-energy, one of the humans in the canoe may move to quickly to calm him or grag him, or retrieve him from falling into the water..... and THEN the canoe will capsize.
But I am still open to discussion :-)
Your Momma
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