When taking Wylie for a walk at the lake—most notably when it’s hot—he wants nothing more than to swim.  The water calls to him like a siren to sailors of yore.  He loves to fetch in the water.  A simple stick is all that’s needed for him to literally push himself to the limits of exhausted collapse.  It’s necessary to temper his activity because he loves it too much and doesn’t know when to stop.

But when swimming is not on the menu, he still asks repeatedly.  With Frisbee time, each catch is followed by the same thing: him going to the edge of the bike trail and waiting for approval to cross.  One thing that’s great about Wylie is that he won’t cross a road unless given permission.  In this case, however, there’s no danger of a car zooming by because the road is for bike and foot traffic only.  Still, he chases the Frisbee, catches it, and immediately takes position next to the concrete barrier—and he waits.  All he needs is the right word and off he’ll go.

Swimming was not in the program during the trip personified in the photos below.  He had already done so earlier in the day, so this particular trip was a brief walk through the park and along the lake’s edge.  Nevertheless, as you can see, he kept asking the question and hoping to get a different answer.

Note that all of these photos were taking last June.  Also note I didn’t capture better photos because I was hot and miserable and didn’t bother to check the camera settings.  Also, I was walking the whole time, so each picture I took was an exercise in motion annulment.  The other photos I grabbed during the same walk can be seen here and here.