The beach, the beach, the BEACH! This weekend was our first trip back to Corolla. It was like being home again. The peace I feel the moment I smell that ocean air is a gift. One delivered directly from the man above.
The spoils we found on the beach this weekend ranged from a bit of precious sea glass to a live (and now saved) blue crab. We also found rusted old ship metal, baby cheeks and a dog collar.
Dog collar?
Yes, a purple dog collar. Complete with rabies tags and an address located in the same neighborhood as my mother, back in Virginia. At some point a family from my mother’s zip code visited the Outer Banks with their dog, only to lose his vivid purple collar in the surf.
I called and left a message for the owners, with the return phone call arriving just this evening. The woman who called had me practically in tears. But not the kind you might expect. No, her dog didn’t fall off a boat, leaving only an empty collar to wash up on shore. Rather, he found himself in an unfortunate photo opportunity gone terribly wrong.
“Let me tell you the story my husband probably wouldn’t tell you, or certainly admit to. We are watching my daughter’s black lab, and brought him to Corolla for the week. Yesterday the dog played on the beach while we flew kites. It was then that my husband had his brilliant idea. To tie the kite on the dog’s collar as if he was flying it. Then, take a picture and send it to our daughter. However, as soon as the kite was tied to the collar, the wind pulled it off. We all watched the kite fly the collar over the ocean. Even the dog was upset. He loved that collar! We waited about an hour on the beach expecting the collar to wash up, but it never did. I was hoping someone would find it and call our number!”
Tomorrow, a black lab will be very happy to receive his purple collar, lost a few days before in a state two hours away from his home. He knew it was a bad idea. Labradors can’t fly kites. It is just too hard without opposable thumbs.
