(published in Savvy Magazine, November 2013)
The dog appeared to be looking for someone. It stood one way and then the other, tongue gently lolling, eyes searching the beach. I wondered if he was lost.
Half an hour later, after playing with a nearby family, he stood alone and surveyed the beach again. He was definitely lost.
I called him over and he came, tail wagging. He was young and stout, well-cared for. Someone would be missing him. I asked around on the beach, but nobody claimed him. I thought about calling the SPCA. Maybe I would have to take him home with me. I started to plan my moves… where he would sit in the car… what I could feed him at home. Then I approached an elderly couple who laughed at my concerns.
“That’s the beach dog!”
The beach dog? I’d never heard of this concept. But much later, after hours of beach dog shenanigans, the owner showed up. “He just loves to play, with anyone, but especially children. He’s hardly ever at home.”
Whole days on the beach with a multitude of playmates and new games, and not a care in the world? He has the best life of any dog I’ve ever shaken paws with.
So if you visit a beach and there’s a lost dog, don’t hurry to take him home with you. He might be a beach dog, and the only place he wants to be is exactly where he is.
Northland Tales 
Was that Gonzo the beach dog?
Might be 😉