Told by Kuma
& Written by Lorraine Bossé-Smith
Most of my adventures have been on land, but my family recently purchased a boat. I wasn’t sure what I thought about this floating vessel, and I made my concerns known the typical Shiba Inu way—I howled! My mom assured me everything was OK, and I believed her . . . mostly. I’m a good swimmer, but I wouldn’t say I’m a water dog. I have enormous respect for my kind who truly are water dogs. They could live in the water. Me, I just visit. Then I spend the next couple of hours licking myself perfect again.
Anyway, once in the boat, I realized I stayed nice and dry. My mom had treats, a fresh bowl of water, and a bone to chew on. Things were looking up! After about ten minutes, I decided our boating adventure was over, and I was ready to disembark. “That was fun, but I’m a mover and a shaker!” I wanted off. On to the next thing!
What happened next would make your tail curl my canine friends! Mine is always curly, but you get my drift. Little did I know our boating 
adventure was only beginning! My dad started driving the boat like the car. The engine roared, and off we were. Whoa. We were actually driving on the water, I kid you not! I sat next to my mom on the floor and felt the vibrations. Kinda cool. As we picked up speed, I realized scents from miles away were slamming into me. Most awesome! I moved to the bow of the boat. For those of you not familiar with the term, that’s the front end. I sat up on the bench watching the water. “Daddy go faster,” I barked! This was incredible.
The birds were flying around; fish were jumping. I could see other dogs along the shore. Poor saps; they weren’t riding in style like me. I sent them a quick greeting as we flew by at warp speed. My fur was blowing, and my nose filled with so many scents I was overloaded. We slowed down through the “no wake” zones, typically around people’s houses. I used this time to tour the boat some more. Pretty spacious, with several other viewing options. As we went faster again, I tried the stern, or the back of the boat. Here, I saw where we had been. The water spread away and made waves. “Hey, wasn’t that Challenger Park?” My mom must have read my mind and confirmed we just had passed one of my favorite parks. “Woof!”
We started out on Clear Creek and ended up at Clear Lake, although the water wasn’t any clearer, in my humble opinion. A lot of humans were boating, some jumping off their perfectly dry vessel into the water. Hmmm. I’m not ready for that just yet. I’ve seen what lives in that water, and they are bigger than me! My mom agreed, and we stayed in the boat. Good human! Other folks were standing on the water. I’ve never seen such a thing before in my life! My humans called it water skiing. Quite impressive, and the humans seemed to be having fun with kids floating on inner tubes.
We floated a bit and had a tasty lunch. Just when I was getting a little warm, we headed back. This time, my dad pushed the boat to its limits, seeing how fast she’d go. I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’m pretty confident we must have broken a speed record or something. We hit a wave, and off the bench my mom and I both flew. Into the air we went for what felt like an eternity, and then we connected back with the boat. My mom was laughing really hard, and I barked, “Do that again!” Yes, I think this boating thing suits me. You must try it! Our area has plenty of boat ramps, and other than gas in your boat, it’s free. Boating is a great way to cool off on a hot summer’s day.
Kumaito (Kuma for short) is a multi-tan Shiba Inu, an ancient breed from Japan, who moved from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to Friendswood, Texas. He enjoys running almost every day with his mom, chasing squirrels out of his yard, playing with toys, pestering his brother Edmond, eating, napping … well, Kuma loves about everything and everyone! His mom, Lorraine Bossé-Smith, was kind enough to help him tell his story. She is the author of seven published books, writes for magazines on assignment, has been seen on national television, and inspires people to live healthy, balanced lives through personal training, life coaching, and workshops. You can reach Kuma through Lorraine’s website: www.thetotalyou.biz. Be sure to visit Kuma Dog’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Kumathedog?ref=hl
You never know what he’ll be up to next!
