Mollie's first time swimming

We've always wanted to toss Mollie into a lake and see if she could swim. The opportunity finally came when we visited Lake Berryessa in Napa last weekend and boated around the lake!

We weren't sure if she knew how to swim so we bought her a life jacket just in case.

Look how ecstatic she is! 

She could even magically levitate off the ground!

On the day of our boating adventure, Mollie was eager and ready to go. We even strapped a GoPro on her to capture the experience from her perspective.

Her excitement didn't last long though. When she was dunked into the lake, she was petrified! Instead of enjoying the water like I hoped she would, she doggie-paddled desperately for dear life and tried to climb and cling onto us with eyes of sheer terror, or she would try to swim back to the boat and reach for the ladder to no avail with her short, stumpy legs.

Daddy also suffered numerous gashes all over his arm as Mollie tried to cling onto him with razor sharp nails. Although she was wearing a lifejacket that could keep her afloat, she didn't realize she could have just relaxed and bobbled around in the water without having to frantically swim. Silly dog :P

Upon returning to the boat after several minutes of her epic battle with the water, she praised the ground and developed a new-found appreciation for land. She was also exhausted...

So exhausted that she tried to get a drink, but conked out before she even reached her water bowl.

Will this be the last time we bring Mollie to a lake? Certainly not!! She's got to practice until she's comfortable! Conquering your fear builds character, I tell her ;)