Last Sunday marked the second time in a row our dog Ginger didn’t fall or jump into the water while we were paddleboarding. She’s been out paddling with my husband and me four times now.

The first time we took her out she ended up in the water unexpectedly–my husband had made an abrupt stop and in she went. We quickly learned that she can indeed swim. She was rescued and put back on board with my husband, but poor baby shivered all the way back to shore from the cold (and shock, I imagine).

The second time she went into the water we’re not sure what happened, except that we were paddling along and we both heard a splash. I looked in the water and Ginger was doggy paddling her way over to my board. Miraculously, I was able to get her onto my board without falling in myself.

As we were heading back to shore that second time, another paddler called out to us that the dog needed a life vest or we could be fined $250 by the lifeguards. We had never heard this before. Our friend’s son who was lifeguarding at the this beach over the summer said he didn’t know if that was true, but they had better things to worry about our dog’s life vest.

Just in case, we ended up getting Ginger a vest. Ever since, she’s stayed on board. Heading out for a paddle this evening. We’ll see if she holds on to her streak.