Having survived a precarious kayak ride, Dudley joins us for a photo-op.

Dudley is many things to us: chaser of squirrels, counter of cattle, and brave barker at things that go bump in the night, but one thing he is not is water dog. When Mom and Dad go swimming, even in alligator infested waters where his loyal and brave protection— ell, at least his value as bait—would be most appreciated, he chooses to stay on shore.

His dislike of the water can only be overcome if his beloved Frisbee should be "mistakenly" thrown in the water. Because of this, we were surprised to see how quickly he jumped into Rob's lap for a kayak ride. You see, in Rob's first attempts at kayaking without Dudley he had done nothing that would inspire confidence in a little dog with an innate fear of water.

When it came time to invite Dudley to jump aboard what could only be described as a precarious separation between dog and dunking, he literally jumped at the chance. Why this sudden confidence in Dad? Was it uncommon bravery and loyalty that compelled Dudley to join this ship of fools? Nope. It was because Mom (Emily) had already paddled away and Dudley knew that if the only way to stay close to her was to risk everything with an obviously inept paddler such as Dad, the risk was worth it.

So much for valor.