SUP in the Sun

Last summer we took Hazel and Tallon to Huntington Harbor for SUP = Stand Up Paddle boarding. Tallon is a Neapolitan mastiff that is 110# at the age of 8 months. It was his first ever time going… And he did great!

At first my gentle giant friend was scared of the boarding process…. or the floating on the water period. But my friend was persistent and after some Neo grumbles we were off for the first leg of our day date.

Hazel Nut LOVES to SUP. She constantly wants to jump off the board…. which sent me to my knees a few times. Usually I can brace myself… but she definitely caught me off guard this time. God love her…

As we reached the first beach to let Tallon off to potty.. we also got the opportunity to remind Hazel that everyone ELSE’s boards/kayaks/etc are NOT hers. She would swim after others.. to my horror. But in the midst of letting her be her crazy self we learned that Tallon can swim. He would swim after us to join in the “fun” of chasing Hazel Nut. Ha. I definitely got his paws a bit more than I’d like. But it was definitely beneficial to have that beach moment with the giant learning to swim.. It made the next pitstop easier to deal with.

At our last pitstop (Hazel always has to poop at this one part so we deboard for her). But Tallon would jump on to the board… sending it flying into the water over and over. It was fabulous and absolutely hilarious. The dogs even shared a board long enough for us to snap a picture. 🙂

As Tallon’s courage on the board increased… so did his movement ON the board.. Much to my friends terror probably… Imagine a >100# Neo rocking YOUR SUP board? HAHA! After the last pit stop Tallon didn’t like that Hazel was SO far away…. so he decided to swim after her… He went from zero to SUNK in no time flat. All we hear is this splash and everyone knew he was under. Thankfully his mama put him in this fabulous life vest.. and he started to learn how to swim. Getting back on the board must have been a feat, but watching her do it… it looked so simple! Ha!

I will greatly miss these two and their friendship as I take on the next journey of my life. But these moments I’ll cherish forever. <3