Talk about your good Karma.
One of the tidal pools down at Parksville Bay was the site of a great photo-op for tourists and locals alike recently, as Kat Kellett and her dog Karma, a rambunctious water-loving three-year-old English Bulldog, put on a K9 skim boarding clinic.
With the tide out and the sun out, conditions were perfect for the two well-practiced companions, as Kellett, from Parksville, chose a long, narrow, shallow stretch of water ideal for the task at hand, launching one board after another, sending it skittering out across the surface for Karma, who would in turn power her way through the water, run up beside the board, jump on, and clearly enjoy the ride.
“She’s working on her steering more this summer,” Kellett pointed out as a small crowd gathered along the edge of the tidal pool, clearly impressed, and explained this is Karma’s third summer skim boarding down at Parksville Bay.
“When I got her we knew we had to find a way to exercise her during the summer because it’s way to hot for bulldogs -- they can’t cool down, so skim boarding was the way to go for sure.”
Sure enough, Karma took to skim boarding like a duck to water.
“She loves it,” Kellett confirmed as Karma stood their panting, looking up at her and waiting patiently for another throw.
“You just break it down into a phase process ...one step at a time,” she said when asked how she taught Karma to skim board.
“She’d go ‘til she dropped,” Kellett chuckled when asked how long a typical skim session lasts. “I have to enforce breaks. I need breaks.”